As the Chicago Bears prepare to face off against the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football, all eyes will be on how Caleb Williams and Drake Maye perform.
The 2024 No. 1 and No. 3 overall picks, respectively, Williams and Maye are set to face off against one another for the second time in the NFL.
And the two quarterbacks had nothing but good things to say about each other heading into this week’s matchup.
Maye on Williams: “He’s special in the way he can move and kinda escape and evade pressure. [Him] throwing on the run is pretty cool to watch. I don’t know if I’m that shifty in the pocket. He can do some cool things. He’s got crazy arm talent, and it’s fun to watch. I don’t know if I’m that flexible to try some of those things, but I think the way he plays the game is cool. I know he’s doing a great job, and I know in Chicago he’s got the city on the watch.
Williams on Maye: “His mobility and things like that, it’s always been a weapon for him throughout college, high school, all of that. So it’s going to be a good challenge for us and our team, and we’ve gotta be able to bottle him up.”
And now, Patriots legendary QB Tom Brady chimed in and shared his thoughts on Williams after watching his Week 6 performance against the Atlanta Falcons in person, which earned him the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award.
Tom Brady Sends A Message on Bears QB Caleb Williams
Speaking on FOX Sports, Tom Brady placed the Bears at 7th in his Power Rankings and praised Williams, saying, “Man they played great. I was there to see it. They had 30 completions. They had 40 minutes time of possession. No picks. That’s the kind of football that brings a tear to my eye. Caleb Williams, he really didn’t miss a beat. He looked great, just like he did in the opener.”
I know it’s been a relatively small sample size, but Williams has indeed played terrific this season. Take a look at where he ranks with the rest of the quarterbacks in the NFL:
- Completion Percentage: 72.5% (1st)
- CPOE: +9.8% (1st)
- Clean Pocket Completion Percentage: 84.7% (1st)
- Completion Percentage No Blitz: 87.5% (1st)
- EPA/Dropback: +0.332 (4th)
- Success Rate: 51.4% (3rd)
- Interception Rate: 1.1% (7th)
- Sack Rate: 9.0% (5th)
- Completion Percentage Under Pressure: 50.0% (7th)
It doesn’t get much better than that, and now he’ll be faced with a Patriots defense led by head coach Mike Vrabel, who isn’t going to take Williams lightly just because he looked a little slower than usual last week against the Falcons.
Former Patriots Tight End Rob Gronkowski Gives His Pick on Who He’ll Rather Have Between Williams & Maye
Longtime Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski appeared on the UpAndAdamsShow with Kay Adams and was asked who’s the better QB between Williams and Maye, and to little surprise, the Ex-Patriots tight end is choosing the current Patriots QB.
“If I had to choose a quarterback, this is tough. I’m gonna go with Drake Maye. I just like the touch on his ball… As a player, he would be the ideal quarterback.”
Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, and Gronk is certainly going to lean towards a player from the team he played five seasons for, but fans will get to see who ends up having a better performance on Thursday night.
However, there’s a reason why Williams was chosen No. 1 overall, and the hope for Bears fans is that he showcases his unique talent against a tough 4-2 Patriots team.
Tom Brady Sends Message on Caleb Williams Before Bears-Patriots TNF