Jaylon Johnson is changing his opinion about Caleb Williams, the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. The Bears cornerback no longer thinks his new quarterback is too glitzy Hollywood for blue-collar Chi-town.
“He fits in perfectly,” Johnson told Jim Rome this week. “He comes into work. I feel like coming to the Bears and the city of Chicago, things that we’re kind of fighting against — it’s really just a hard-nosed city. I mean, the fans are hard-nosed, our team is hard-nosed and has kind of been built on that. And I think he’s coming in and fitting in perfectly.
“We were able to push him as a defense and then be able to see how he bounced back and responded and did certain things back. So, I think he’s fitting in perfect. I can’t wait for this camp to really see him take these next steps and lead us to some wins.”
There’s no doubt Williams will be the Bears starter when the season starts in September. Chicago identified him as their main target weeks before April’s draft. But people always pick apart the projected draft choices. Williams was no different. Because he played for two years at USC, people assumed he had a Hollywood vibe, in the bad way. Plus, Williams, who won the 2022 Heisman, probably was the most visible player in college football, with national ad campaigns only amplifying his popularity.
Johnson had wanted Bears to keep Justin Fields as starting QB
Johnson, who has played for the Bears since he entered the NFL in 2020, had been a vocal proponent for keeping Justin Fields, who had started the past three seasons. But the Bears traded Fields to the Steelers after they decided to select Williams with the top pick. Fields now is competing with Russell Wilson for the starting job at Pittsburgh.
Johnson told reporters in March that Williams shouldn’t feel entitled to anything once he arrived in the NFL.
“What you did in college, the Hollywood, it’s like ‘nah, you gotta prove yourself,’” Johnson said. “That stuff, like, that doesn’t matter. You gotta get to know him, too. I think there’s a fine line between trying to prove a point to him, but you also gotta get to know him. Because at the end of the day, we want him to be the absolute best he can be. That’s what we’re bringing him in for to win games. I think truly just learning who he is as a person and learning him deeper than just all the Hollywood stuff you see, but actually trying to learn and get to know him and then knowing what pushes him.”
Johnson said he has gotten to know Williams. Obviously, he’s changed his mind about the new Bears quarterback. He said the two talked, while telling Rome that his remarks in March might’ve been taken out of context.
“But I feel like even with it being reality, now having him in our locker room and in our building, he’s not like that,” said the Bears cornerback. “I think it’s something that the media and that certain people put on him from the outside looking in. And people kind of see the way that he carries himself and they could feel like he’s Hollywood, I guess.”
