PALM BEACH, Fla. — Caleb Williams’ second NFL season will officially begin when the Bears report to Halas Hall on Monday for the start of their offseason program.
As important as his rookie season was, it’s got nothing on Year 2. Build on his first year, and the Bears could have the makings of a franchise quarterback with two years left on his rookie deal and salary cap space to build around him. Flop, and questions about Williams’ future will grow louder.
The same goes for the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels, who won Rookie of the Year last season. And for Bo Nix, who started all 17 games for the Broncos as a 24-year-old rookie. And the Patriots’ Drake Maye.
“These defensive coordinators [have] an opportunity to spend a few months here studying and finding weaknesses,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said this week at the NFL’s annual meeting. “You need to stay on top here, you need to be on your game. You can’t rest on your laurels.
“Second year is a big challenge. If they can get through that second year, they’re got a pretty good thing going.”
That’s why it was so important for the Bears to lure Ben Johnson, the hottest offensive play-caller on the head coaching market, to team with Williams. This season will set the pathway for the rest of the quarterback’s career.
“The first year it’s about experiencing the speed of the game, the complexity of the game, what you can get away with, what you can’t get away with,” Bears general manager Ryan Poles said. “Just experiencing all these different defenses. Because now it’s going to get a little bit repetitive as you go through Year 2 and that retention is important, to remember what you can and can’t get away with.
“On top of that I think [Williams] will create some really good work habits, preparation habits to go into games even more confident that you can execute the offense. … Exactly what Andy is talking about — you put those two together and you’re operating where you start to beat the defense to the punch.”
To that end, the Bears believe Johnson gives them a schematic advantage.
“You’re going to put the defense in some tough situations based on formations and some of the plays he’s designed to put a defense in a bind,” Poles said. “You can really take advantage of that because your quarterback can operate and process faster.”
Johnson said it was important to remember that much of the playbook will be new to Williams, even though he’s not a rookie anymore.
“It’s his second year, but it will be his first year with this playbook and this coaching staff,” he said. “There has to be a little bit of grace involved with that as well and not necessarily shoot for the moon or the stars. There’s a progression.”
The best part about a sophomore is that he’s no longer a freshman. But that doesn’t mean he can fast-forward through the basics the second time around.
“Going into Year 2, there’s a process you have to respect and understand,” said Broncos coach Sean Payton, who mentored Nix last year.
Donovan McNabb made the Pro Bowl in his second NFL season while playing for Reid as a member of the Eagles in 2000. Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes was the NFL MVP in his sophomore season in 2018.
The Bengals’ Joe Burrow won Comeback Player of the Year in 2021, his second NFL season.
“You’ve just seen the way of the world in the NFL for a full season,” said Burrow’s coach, Zac Taylor. “It’s your first offseason when you’re not going through the Senior Bowl, Shrine Game, Combine, answering interview questions. You just get to be a normal football player, get your body right, get ready for the offseason. And you’ve seen at least 17 weeks of NFL defenses.”
Taylor considers the notion that defensive coordinators stay up at night all offseason planning for a specific quarterback to be overblown. But there’s no question the quarterbacks use the experience of their rookie season in their second year — and are judged by what happens next.
“Some guys have more success Year 1 than others,” he said. “I think everyone has a chance to go through that gauntlet and see what it’s like for Year 2. I think you’ll be a little better prepared.”