LOS ANGELES — By the time the Bears sent out an armada to USC’s Pro Day, general manager Ryan Poles shaking Caleb Williams’ parents hands and newly-acquired receiver Keenan Allen watching intently, the fate of USC’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback seemed set.
And indeed, a very-thinly-kept-secret became reality on Thursday night, when Williams was officially selected with the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft by the Bears, stepping into a situation where he’ll have a chance to make an immediate splash in a football town desperate for a savior. He’ll have two big-time targets in former Chargers receiver Allen and big-play threat D.J. Moore, who racked up 1,364 yards in 2023.
All smiles in a clean navy-blue suit on Thursday night, Williams becomes USC’s sixth-overall No. 1 draft choice — putting them above any other program in the nation. It gives USC head coach Lincoln Riley, too, another point of bragging rights, the first coach in this era of the NFL draft to develop three No. 1 picks: Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray in back-to-back years in 2018 and 2019 at Oklahoma, and now Williams in 2024.
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