Top Observations from Chicago Bears OTAs: Caleb Williams shows off his arm against depleted secondary

LAKE FOREST — The last time the media was allowed to watch the Bears practice things did not go well for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. He struggled to complete passes in 7-on-7s. He held onto the ball. He was missing two of his top pass catchers in Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze. It wasn’t a good day for the No. 1 overall pick.

That was on May 23.

With the media back in attendance for Friday’s practice, Williams and the offense bounced back.

Here are my top observations from practice.

7-on-7s

Williams had 15 total passing attempts in his three 7-on-7 sessions. The Bears’ starting quarterback completed 13 of his attempts and did so with accuracy and conviction. In the 7-on-7 period of practice, Williams completed passes to eight different pass catchers.

Here is a list of the players who caught a ball from Williams:

• DJ Moore
• Rome Odunze
• Gerald Everett
• Roschon Johnson
• Nsimba Webster
• Tyler Scott
• John Jackson
• Brenden Bates

Out of his 13 completions, two stood out above the rest. The first one was a perfectly thrown pass to Jackson near the left sideline. Williams had to layer the ball over the defender, but also get the pass quickly enough to Jackson before Tyrique Stevenson could get over to make a play on the ball. Williams did both of those things and Jackson finished the play with a reception.

If the second rep had happened while Bears fans were in attendance, I don’t know how people would’ve contained themselves. Williams received the snap out of the shotgun, dropped back and let the ball fly deep down the field to Moore. Elijah Hicks was in coverage and tried to breakup the pass with his left hand, but Moore hung onto the ball for the touchdown.

Williams also had some other notable completions during 7-on-7s. One came on a slant route to Moore. Williams threw the ball with good timing and anticipation. As soon as Moore broke inside, the ball was right where it needed to be.

There was also a sliding reception by Odunze on the right side of the field. Williams looked initially to his left at D’Andre Swift who ran a deep vertical route down the left sideline, but he wasn’t open. So, Williams rolled to his right, saw Odunze and completed a pass to the rookie wide receiver.

The first pass that didn’t go down as a completion was on his 11th attempt. Williams saw Odunze running deep down the right sideline and gave his receiver a chance on what would’ve been an explosive play. The ball was thrown accurately and Odunze looked back for the ball and attempted to make the reception, but cornerback Terell Smith interfered with Odunze and was called for pass interference.

Williams’ only actual incompletion occurred on the final rep in 7-on-7s. The Bears’ quarterback rolled left and didn’t find an open receiver, so he threw the pass out of bounds.

It’s worth noting that the Bears were without a majority of their key starts during the 7-on-7s. Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, Kevin Byard and T.J. Edwards did not practice today.

11-on-11s

The team period had some mixed results. The first play began with a false start and then there was an incomplete pass on the next play. Williams did connect with Odunze on the right sideline that would’ve qualified for “Toe-Drag Swag” that was done by Nate Burleson on Good Morning Football.

Williams also had a pass fall incomplete to Swift on a screen play. The Bears’ running back was able to get his hand on the ball, but the pass was slightly out in front of Swift. Then there was some miscommunication on one rep when Williams handed the ball off to nobody and was forced to throw the ball out of bounds. Then, Zacch Pickens destroyed Ja’Tyre Carter, who was playing left guard, and would’ve got a sack on Williams.

The next offensive series for the first-team offense ended in a Cairo Santos field goal in a two-minute drill. On the drive, Williams connected with Moore on a accurate throw near the sideline. Williams also used his legs on one play and picked up some yards running to his left. On third-and-short, Williams hit Moore on slant route. The ball was slightly behind the veteran receiver, but Moore hauled in the pass. Defensive lineman Dashaun Mallory batted down a ball at the line of scrimmage and nearly intercepted the pass. After that play, Williams handed the ball off to Roschon Johnson for a gain up the middle. Santos finished the drive with his field goal.

Santos did attempt another field goal immediately after, but from further back. This time the ball hit the left upright and then ricocheted and hit the crossbar. The classic double doink.

Other Observations

Coleman Shelton received the snaps as the first-team center in today’s practice. Last time the media was in attendance, Ryan Bates played as the starting center. Bears head coach Matt Eberflus was asked if Shelton and Bates have been in a rotation.

“We’ve been rotating some,” Eberflus said. “We’re working on both guys and getting used to both centers. At some point, you need two centers, as we all know, during the course of the year. We’re just training those guys.”    

Eberflus was also asked if the two are in a competition and he said, “Right now, I think everything’s a competition, I really do. I think that most spots are competitive, that’s the best way to do it.” 

Odunze and Moore were working on punt returns early on in practice. Just based on the few reps I was able to watch of Odunze fielding punts from Tory Taylor, he does a nice job of getting underneath the ball and ultimately looked comfortable being in that position.

Here is the list of players who either did not participate or were not at today’s practice:

• Jaylon Johnson
• Kyler Gordon
• Jaquan Brisker
• Montez Sweat
• Keenan Allen
• Kevin Byard
• Nate Davis
• T.J. Edwards
• DeMarcus Walker

Teven Jenkins was at practice and participated in individuals, but did not play during the team period. Ja’Tyre Carter filled in at left guard for Jenkins.

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