USC QB Caleb Williams, the projected top pick, declares for 2024 NFL Draft

The Chicago Bears are currently on the clock with the No. 1 overall pickCaleb Williams kept the Chicago Bears and the rest of the NFL waiting for as long as he could, but on Monday, the presumptive No. 1 overall pick officially declared for the 2024 NFL Draft.

Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy Winner, leaves USC after throwing 72 touchdown passes and only 10 interceptions over the past two seasons.

The 22-year-old has been penciled in as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft since he burst onto the scene as a freshman at Oklahoma in 2021. Williams is only 6-foot-1, but he is an elite playmaker with the accuracy and arm talent to drop dimes into tight windows. His improvisational ability is rare, but he is more than a hero-ball quarterback. Williams is as good in structure as he is out of it, and it’s the reason he’s expected to be the Bears’ selection with the No. 1 overall pick on April 25.

“He’s a generational talent,” one NFC scout told NBC Sports Chicago. “They don’t make them like him. What Caleb Williams can do — that probably only comes around once every 20 or 30 years. If you’re lucky enough to be holding that lottery ticket, you don’t give it up.”

The Bears and general manager Ryan Poles face a franchise-defining decision this offseason.

Quarterback Justin Fields showed growth in Year 3, but the Bears landed the No. 1 overall pick via the Carolina Panthers and now must decide if Fields, Williams, or perhaps North Carolina’s Drake Maye is best suited to lead them forward.