Caleb Williams will experience his first Thanksgiving matchup, heading to Detroit in Week 13. The Bears have invested heavily into Williams, with Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, and D’Andre Swift joining D.J. Moore and company in what looks to be an exciting offense. They will face an established high-powered offense in Jared Goff and the Lions, who have not won on Thanksgiving since 2016. Fantasy managers will be glued to the screen Thanksgiving afternoon hoping to watch both offenses feast.

The No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft was always expected to be named the starter, but credit the Bears for not wasting time with a phony quarterback camp battle before naming him the starter. Behind Williams is former Division II quarterback Tyson Bagent and NFL journeyman Brett Rypien — far from stiff competition for Williams. Now officially named as the starter, Williams will take all of the starting quarterback reps in camp and throughout the preseason as he prepares for his Week 1 opener in September.

The consensus No. 1 overall pick for the better part of two years and arguably the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck, Williams (6’1/214) enters the NFL coming off a “down” season where the Trojans’ line and supporting cast woes “limited” him to 3,633 yards and 30 scores in 12 games after those numbers were 4,537 and 42, respectively, in 2022. Despite his protection problems, Williams continued to look down-field when flushed from the pocket and remained lethal off-platform. Although by no means an elite runner, Williams can do damage with his legs — he rushed for 21 scores over the past two seasons — and is difficult to take down due to a thick build a la Kyler Murray or arguably even Jalen Hurts. Despite a 2023 environment and setup that created nits to be picked, Williams was never in any danger of falling beyond the No. 1 spot. A genuine franchise-changing type talent for a long-beleaguered Bears quarterback room, Williams is one of the most important players to enter the NFL this decade. He will threaten for QB1 status right off the bat.

Rapoport added that it is “likely his only visit.” Understandably so, as the Bears hold the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and Williams is likely to be selected at that spot. The Bears got their evaluations and checks in while Williams got to meet with the staff and both parties got familiar with each other. With the Top 30 visit formality out of the way, Chicago can start to make room for Williams as their franchise quarterback come draft night, barring any unforeseen changes.