Williams heads to the Windy City and looks to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has been looking for for decades.
“My goal is to go as far in February as I can,†Williams said in reference to playing in the Super Bowl with a team that hasn't lifted the Lombardi Trophy in almost 40 years.
The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner opened a historic NFL draft on Thursday that saw five teams select quarterbacks in the top 12 picks, a record five in the Top 10 and tying the record for the most in the first round.
Almost the entire first half of the draft went to offensive players.
The first defensive player was UCLA defensive end Laiatu Latu with the 15th position for the Indianapolis Colts. This is the time when the first defensive player comes out later.
The Bears started with the easy option and took Williams with the number one after making the decision weeks ago.
“Care, love and support and desire to win,†Williams said is what he will take to Chicago.
The Washington Commanders followed by taking 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels of LSU and the New England Patriots with QB Drake Maye of North Carolina, making this the fourth draft in history in which they selected three quarterbacks with the first 3 picks.
Before it happened in 2021 (Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance), 1971 (Jim Plunkett, Archie Manning, Dan Pastorini) and 1999 (Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb, Akili Smith).
With the number 8, The Atlanta Falcons shocked Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. despite giving Kirk Cousins a massive contract in free agency.. The Denver Broncos selected Oregon QB Bo Nix with the 12th pick, tying the 1983 draft record of six quarterbacks going in the first round.
The Arizona Cardinals ended the QB trend with Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth pick. He is the son of former NFL player and Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison.
The Chargers began the Jim Harbaugh era with Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt instead of giving Justin Herbert a receiver to replace Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.
The Giants managed to take LSU receiver Malik Nabers with the No. 6 and the Titans took Alabama offensive tackle JC Latham with the seventh pick. The Bears, who also had the seventh pick, opted for catcher Roma Odunze
The Jets, who fell to 11th, went with offensive tackle Olu Fashanu to give Aaron Rodgers more protection and the Las Vegas Raiders went with Georgia tight end Brock Bowers with the No. 13. The Saints New Orleans selected Oregon offensive tackle Sate Taliese Fuaga with the 14th pick before the Colts opted for Latu.
The latest time they had taken a defensive player before this draft was when the Seattle Seahawks took defensive tackle Byron Murphy with the eighth pick.
The Cincinnati Bengals went with Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims and the Los Angeles Rams took defensive linemen Jared Verse at No. 19, the team's first day one pick since taking Jared Goff at No. 1 in 2016.
Wearing a navy blue suit with silver accents, Williams gave Roger Goodell a big hug, but with enough care given that the commissioner underwent back surgery three weeks ago.
After Goodell welcomed rapper Eminem onto the stage wearing a Lions sweatshirt and cap. The Detroit native fired up the crowd before giving the floor to Lions stars Jared Goff, Aidan Hutchinson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, as well as Hall of Famers Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson.
St. Brown led the chants of “Jar-ed Goff! and Johnson just said, “Whaddup doe?â€
Nearly 275,000 attendees, most wearing Lions blue jerseys, packed the streets surrounding the theater where the draft was held and turned the most important event of the NFL offseason into a party.
They screamed again when the Lions made a trade with Dallas and took Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold with the 24th pick.
Williams is the third quarterback Chicago has taken in the first round in the last eight years. Mitch Trubisky was the second overall pick in 2017 and was part of the team for four seasons. Justin Fields, the 11th pick in 2021, was traded away after three years for a sixth-round pick.
Williams, 22, will have the task of turning the Bears into a winning team. Chicago has only two seasons with a winning record since its last playoff victory after the 2010 season.
Williams was the clear favorite in a draft full of standout quarterbacks that included Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, as well as Drake Maye and JJ McCarthy. The Bears only met with one quarterback and Williams did not visit any other teams.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Washington offensive lineman Troy Fautanu with number 20. Miami Dolphins head coach (21) Penn State defensive lineman Chop Robinson and the Philadelphia Eagles (22) to Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell.
The Jacksonville Jaguars (23) went with receiver Brian Thomas Jr. and after the Lions selected Arnold, the Green Bay Packers (25) selected Arizona offensive tackle Jordan Morgan. The Tampa Bake Buccaneers (26) went for Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton.
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected versatile Washington offensive lineman Troy Fautanu at No. 20. Penn
Arizona (27) then chose Missouri defensive lineman Darius Robinson. The Kansas City Chiefs (28) reached an agreement with Buffalo to move up in the round and took Texas receiver Xavier Worthy.
The Cowboys (29) went for Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton and the Baltimore Ravens (30) went for Clemson defensive back Nate Wiggins.
The San Francisco 49ers (231) added Florida receiver Ricky Pearsall and the Carolina Panthers closed the first round with another receiver in South Carolina's Xavier Legette.
