Jayden Daniels Reportedly ‘Didn’t Stump’ for Bears to Draft Him Over Caleb Williams

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels didn’t go out of his way to lobby the Chicago Bears as they evaluated their options with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Fowler spoke to a source who said the Bears “were very vocal very early” about making Caleb Williams their preferred choice, though Chicago officials performed general “due diligence” on Daniels.

The feeling was seemingly mutual.

“Going No. 1 was not a focus for Daniels, the source added, so he didn’t stump for Chicago in the process,” Fowler reported. “He liked the Washington situation and was comfortable with his spot in the draft.”

If Daniels had any reservations about going to the Bears — one of the biggest quarterback graveyards in the NFL — then he wasn’t the only one.

ESPN’s Seth Wickersham reported in his book, American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback, that Williams “was so concerned about being picked by the Chicago Bears in 2024 that he and his family weighed circumventing the entire NFL draft.”

The Bears going 5-12 and firing both head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron served to illustrate the apprehensions of the Williams family.

The fact that Daniels won Offensive Rookie of the Year while helping the Commanders make the playoffs led people to wonder whether Chicago erred in having such a singular focus on Williams during the scouting process.

The pendulum may be shifting again based on the first six weeks of the 2025 season.

Washington (3-2) is higher up in the NFC standings than Chicago (2-2), but Williams has performed better than Daniels on an individual basis. He’s averaging more passing yards (231.8) with a slightly higher completion percentage (62.3), and he’s 13 spots higher in QBR.

Rehashing the 2024 NFL draft contains some revisionist history because Williams was the consensus No. 1 quarterback almost from start to finish. He was certainly higher up boards than Daniels. A vast majority of people agreed with the Bears’ assessment.

In time, Daniels may remain content with landing in Washington. Thanks to the offseason hiring of coach Ben Johnson, the Bears could become a much more QB-friendly setting than they were this time last year and for much of their history.

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