The Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders and New England Patriots hope they’ve a very powerful constructing block in the case of placing collectively a NFL championship contender.
The three once-proud franchises have fallen on onerous instances lately. The trio mixed to play the final two seasons with a 34-67-1 report largely due to insufficient quarterback play. Armed with the highest three picks within the 2024 NFL Draft, it’s no shock Chicago, Washington and New England used their high alternatives on QBs: Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye, respectively.
Now, the onerous work both begins — or continues. Williams, Daniels and Maye would possibly all be Corridor of Famers when it’s mentioned and performed (historical past suggests in any other case), however their groups can begin by placing them in good positions.
For Williams, it certain seems to be just like the Bears have performed a superb job in doing that to date. Chicago has D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen on the depth chart as veteran receivers and used the No. 9 choose to seize one other high wideout expertise in Rome Adunze.
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Williams’ expertise is clear to anybody who has seen him play. He has exceptional big-play capability and thrives in a method few can when the play breaks down round him. That expertise with the talent he has round him being herded by new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron might make Chicago’s offense among the finest briefly order.
As such, Williams might be on the quick monitor to being a top-10 quarterback within the NFL. Should you wished to, you would make the case he already is, which is one thing NESN.com’s Mike Cole and Ricky Doyle kicked round this week on “The Unfold” podcast.
The easiest way to rank the NFL’s top-flight quarterbacks is perhaps to make use of a tiered system. As “The Unfold” cohosts concluded, there’s a reasonably evident high tier that isn’t fairly prepared to incorporate Williams or his draft classmates.
NFL QBs TIER 1
Patrick Mahomes (Kansas Metropolis)
Lamar Jackson (Baltimore)
Josh Allen (Buffalo)
Joe Burrow (Cincinnati)
C.J. Stroud (Houston)
Jordan Love (Inexperienced Bay)
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Perhaps together with Stroud and Love in that tier is untimely or perhaps a sizzling take. However when you think about the expertise they confirmed and the way they produced of their first seasons as NFL starters, they do seem to have endurance.
From there, it will get just a little murkier.
NFL QBs TIER 1.5 (as a result of, properly, who is aware of?)
Aaron Rodgers (New York Jets)
After which it will get crowded.
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NFL QBs TIER 2
Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers)
Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams)
Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville)
Tua Tagovailoa (Miami)
Dak Prescott (Dallas)
Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia)
Jared Goff (Detroit)
Brock Purdy (San Francisco)
Kirk Cousins (Atlanta)
Kyler Murray (Arizona)
See? It will get actual tough whenever you attempt to differentiate among the many likes of gamers like, say, Stafford, Goff and Cousins. Herbert, Lawrence and Tagoavailoa are simply ready to take the subsequent step that has them making use of for entry into Tier 1.
On the subject of somebody like Williams, the baseline hope is that whenever you’re making the identical tiers subsequent yr, he’s no less than included in Tier 2. That might mark exceptional progress for a Bears group that basically hasn’t ever had a franchise QB. As Mike and Ricky talked about, a ceiling efficiency would put him proper within the combine with somebody like Herbert.
The Bears’ state of affairs is actually higher than what Daniels or Maye are inheriting of their new houses, however they, too, might make instant impacts to hitch the fray and set the course for an all-time quarterback class.
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