The Chicago Bears selected Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft Thursday in Detroit. He was followed by the Washington Commanders’ selection of LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels and the New England Patriots’ choice of North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.
Six quarterbacks — Williams, Daniels, Maye, J.J. McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix — were taken in the first 12 picks. In total, 23 offensive players heard their names called, the most in NFL draft history.
Williams, the consensus top prospect, threw for 3,633 yards, 30 touchdowns and five interceptions last season. He won the Heisman Trophy as the best player in college football the previous season after he took the Trojans from a four-win team to an 11-win team. Williams threw for 4,075 yards, 37 touchdowns and only four interceptions over 13 games in 2022.
The Bears were able to select Williams thanks to a major trade ahead of the 2023 draft. Chicago — which owned the No. 1 pick at the time — sent it to the Carolina Panthers in return for receiver DJ Moore, 2023 first- and second-round picks, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2025 second-round pick. That 2024 first-round pick would later become the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft.
Williams joins a retooled Chicago team that traded for six-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen and signed running back D’Andre Swift this offseason. The Bears also have rising stars in Moore and tight end Cole Kmet.
The Commanders selected LSU star Daniels at No. 2. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound quarterback won the 2023 Heisman Trophy after one of the most electrifying seasons in college football history. He threw for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns and only four interceptions while adding 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.
Maye was selected No. 3 by the Patriots. At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, he boasts the prototypical size for the position and has drawn comparisons to Los Angeles Chargers signal-caller Justin Herbert. Maye — the 2022 ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Player of the Year as a sophomore — threw for 3,608 yards, 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions last season in his junior year.
The biggest shock came at No. 8, when Michael Penix Jr. was selected by the Atlanta Falcons. Not only was that higher than most had expected the Washington quarterback to be taken, it also came from a team that signed veteran signal-caller Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed this offseason.
“It was a big surprise. We had no idea this was coming,” Cousins’ agent, Mike McCartney, said in a text to the NFL Network. “The truth is the whole league had no idea this was coming. We got no heads up. Kirk got a call from the Falcons when they were on the clock. That was the first we heard. It never came up in any conversation.”