Chicago Bears QB Case Keenum’s arm is ‘league’ better than Caleb Williams’ at OTAs

Chicago Bears quarterback Case Keenum is charging up the depth chart at OTAs this spring. The veteran quarterback took all of the second-team reps at practice on Wednesday, and Tyson Bagent struggled to complete a deep pass to a wide-open Tyler Scott.

Keenum isn’t going to supplant Caleb Williams for the QB1 job in Week 1, but the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft is a little behind his tutor during OTAs. Williams threw two gnarly interceptions on Wednesday on passes over the middle of the field. He also struggled with accuracy at times, like he did last week.

Case Keenum has the best arm for the Chicago Bears right now

Per Adam Hoge of CHGO Bears, Keenum is making hard throws look easy, and Williams is placing the ball in those hard throws out of play.

“The Bears ran the same exact play twice with different quarterbacks, different personnel,” Hoge said. “And the throw was just like a short little wheel. I’m not giving anything away. That’s just what the throw was. Case Keenum, perfect touch, like drops it in a bucket. And it’s just like a little throw in the flat. Like it’s not that big of a deal. At least it doesn’t look like a big deal.

“But Caleb drives around the same exact thing when he gets on the field after that and tosses it out of bounds. So that’s like a touch thing that it’s just, I just want to bring it up as an example of like where growth still has to come from and why sometimes you see a guy as (Mark Carman) pointed out earlier, like Case Keenum’s arm compared to Caleb Williams’ arm right now, two different leagues.”

Caleb Williams has a few things to work on

Hoge believes that Williams can reach Keenum’s talent level, but the experience gap is telling for those watching practice.

“But it’s not just about arm talent, it’s about ball placement and knowing the timing of things and when to put the ball in the air and exactly where the defenders are,” Hoge said. “I’m still very confident it’s going to come in time. But even in a May 28th practice in Chicago or in Lake Forest, like you still sort of see those differences sometimes, even between the backups compared to the starters.”

What’s concerning about Hoge’s observations is that Williams is so far behind Keenum with ball placement. That was sort of the whole reason why he was considered a generational pick in the first place. As it turns out, there are serious accuracy issues for Williams in offseason No. 2.

Williams isn’t just learning a new offense and progressions in Year 2. He’s trying to learn how to throw a football in the National Football League. This isn’t something the Bears’ front office saw coming when he tossed layups during USC’s Pro Day.

It’s not something Bears fans want to think about after watching Jayden Daniels win Rookie of the Year on his way to an appearance in the NFC Championship Game.

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