Caleb Williams Fantasy Outlook 2025: Is Bears QB a good pick after lackluster rookie year?

Caleb Williams was selected No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. Although he did not have a bad season by any means, Williams did not fully live up to the sky high expectations that he had prior to entering the league. Chicago was a mess last year, something that likely contributed to his struggles and the Bears offensive problems in consistently scoring points.

In fantasy football drafts last year, Williams was being projected near the QB16 position as a mid-range QB2. He finished his first season in the NFL with 3,541 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns, and six interceptions; something that led to a QB16 finish in PPR fantasy leagues.

As a result, Williams provided the exact positional return (QB16) that he was projected in (QB16) prior to the campaign. However, as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 Draft, many fans were expecting a much higher fantasy football return for investment, given the generational talent that Williams showed in college football.

In 2025, Williams has a new head coach and various new options across the offensive unit. Offensive minded head coach Ben Johnson is expected to drastically help the Bears talented but underperforming team, the club invested heavily into the offensive line in free agency, and the franchise drafted top tight end Colston Loveland in the first round as well.

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As a result, expectations are high for Williams and the Bears this year.

Caleb Williams fantasy outlook after lackluster rookie season

Williams has all the skills to be an elite fantasy football quarterback for your team. He is extremely accurate, has a major arm, has a high football IQ, and is extremely mobile as well. In 2024, Williams was the most sacked QB by a large margin and consistently had almost no time to throw the ball from the pocket, something that is expected to change this year.

Fantasy Pros is projecting Williams as the QB13 this year, a slight increase from his projection last year. This rank would likely result in Williams being selected near the tenth round of your draft this summer.

Talent alone makes Williams a yearly QB1 in fantasy football. However, offensive line play and baffling decisions by former head coach Matt Eberflus lowered Williams to the mid QB2 ranks last year.

In 2025, Williams is a low-end QB1 in fantasy football and is someone who can drastically outperform his draft price.

Edited by Joshua Gillesby