NFL draft 2024: Bears tap Caleb Williams with No 1 pick as six QBs go in top 12

Caleb Williams quickly walked onto the stage, looked out and shouted “Woooo! Yes!”

Long-suffering Bears fans felt his joy.

Williams is headed to the Windy City with the goal of becoming the franchise quarterback Chicago has been looking for for decades.

“My goal is to get as far into February as I can,” Williams said, referring to playing in a Super Bowl for a team that hasn’t won the Lombardi Trophy in nearly four decades.

The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner kicked off a historic NFL draft on Thursday night, with five other teams selecting quarterbacks from the top 12, setting a record with five in the top 10 and tying a record for most first-round draft picks.

Almost the entire first half of the draft consisted of offensive players.

A defensive player wasn’t selected until UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu went to Indianapolis at No. 15. That’s the last a freshman defensive player has ever gone.

The Bears opened with the easy pick, taking Williams at No. 1 after deciding weeks ago to rely on the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner from USC.

“Care, love and support and wanting to win,” Williams said of what he brings to Chicago.

The Washington Commanders followed by acquiring 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels from LSU and the New England Patriots took North Carolina’s Drake Maye at No. 3, making it the fourth draft with quarterbacks taken with the first three picks fit.

At No. 8, the Atlanta Falcons made a stunning decision to sign Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. to choose, despite the fact that Kirk Cousins ​​signed a huge contract in free agency. The Minnesota Vikings traded up one spot and brought in JJ McCarthy, who led Michigan to a national championship, five QBs in the top 10 for the first time.

The Denver Broncos selected Oregon’s Bo Nix with the 12th pick, tying the 1983 draft with six QBs in the first round. Three of them became Hall of Famers: John Elway, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly.

The Arizona Cardinals caught on to the early QB trend and selected Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth pick. The Los Angeles Chargers opened the Jim Harbaugh era by taking Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt instead of giving Justin Herbert a No. 1 wide receiver to replace Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.

The New York Giants then took LSU receiver Malik Nabers at No. 6. The Tennessee Titans took Alabama offensive tackle J.C. Latham with the seventh pick and the Bears selected Washington well over Rome Odunze at No. 9.

The New York Jets, who fell to No. 11, selected offensive tackle Olu Fashanu, giving Aaron Rodgers more protection. The Las Vegas Raiders drafted Georgia Brock Bowers at No. 13. The New Orleans Saints took Oregon State offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga with the 14th pick before the Colts grabbed Latu.

Previously, No. 8 was the last first defensive player. The Seattle Seahawks then took Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy and the Vikings made another trade to move up and take Alabama, Dallas Turner at No. 17.

The Cincinnati Bengals selected Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims and the Los Angeles Rams got Florida State prospect Jared Verse at No. 19, the team’s first first-round selection since Jared Goff went No. 1 in 2016.

Wearing a navy blue suit with silver accents, Williams flashed a big smile and gave Roger Goodell a hug, being careful not to squeeze too hard because the NFL commissioner had undergone back surgery three weeks ago.

Rap icon Eminem walked onstage shortly after Goodell in a Lions sweatshirt and cap to kick off the festivities. The Motor City native angered fans before handing it off to Lions stars Goff, Aidan Hutchinson, Amon-Ra St Brown and Hall of Famers Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson.

St. Brown led them in singing “Jar-ed Goff!” and Johnson cut it short: “Whaddup doe?”

An estimated crowd of 275,000 people, many wearing their Honolulu blue Lions jerseys, filled the streets around the draft theater, turning the NFL’s biggest offseason event into a giant party.

They roared when the Lions moved up five spots in a trade with Dallas and took Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold with the 24th pick.

The 22-year-old Williams is the third quarterback Chicago has selected in the first round in the past eight years, joining Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields. Last year, they passed on Bryce Young and CJ Stroud and traded the No. 1 pick to Carolina in a blockbuster deal, only to get the top pick this year after going 2-15 against the Panthers.

Williams shouted “Da Bears!” to wrap up his first press conference as a pro.

Williams was a dual-threat player with a strong arm and the ability to improvise. He threw 93 touchdown passes and had 27 scores in three seasons at Oklahoma and USC.

The 23-year-old Daniels, who played three seasons at Arizona State and two at LSU, led the nation in total offense last season with 4,946 yards.

“I don’t let football define me, who I am as a person,” Daniels said. “This is something I do and am passionate about.”

Maye is the second QB the Patriots have selected in the first round since the departure of Tom Brady. Mac Jones didn’t work out and now it’s Maye’s turn to be the man in a new era that begins without longtime coach Bill Belichick.

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected versatile Washington offensive lineman Troy Fautanu at No. 20. Penn State lead Chop Robinson went wide with the Miami Dolphins and the Philadelphia Eagles went with Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell.

Wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 23. After the Lions took Arnold, the Green Bay Packers selected Arizona offensive tackle Jordan Morgan and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton.

Missouri edge Darius Robinson went to Arizona. The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs made a deal with AFC rival Buffalo to move up and take Texas wideout Xavier Worthy at No. 28.

The Cowboys selected Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton, and the Baltimore Ravens got Clemson defensive back Nate Wiggins.

The defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers added another playmaker, comfortably beating Florida’s Ricky Pearsall and the Carolina Panthers traded up to get South Carolina wideout Xavier Legette with the final pick of the first round at No. 32.