Caleb Williams Watch: How Bears QB performed on Day 7 of training camp

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3 days ago

The Chicago Bears continued training camp on Wednesday morning with their seventh practice of the summer, and there was plenty to break down from Day 7 -- including the performance of quarterback Caleb Williams.
Williams is entering his second season following a rocky rookie year that included two head coaches, three offensive coordinators, being sacked a league-high 68 times, a 10-game losing streak and a 5-12 record. But the Bears prioritized Williams' development this offseason with the hiring of offensive guru Ben Johnson as head coach, overhauling the interior offensive line and adding even more weapons to the mix. All eyes will be on Williams this summer as he continues to learn Johnson's offense and looks to find a rhythm heading into Year 2.
We're taking a look at the good, the bad and the noteworthy with Williams from the seventh practice of Bears training camp:
The Good
Williams has really stepped up following a rough start to training camp, and that continued into Wednesday's lighter, red-zone simulated practice. According to Bear Report's Zack Pearson, the starting offense got off to a strong start during the 11-on-11 period. Williams connected with wide receivers DJ Moore, Olamide Zaccheaus and rookie Luther Burden III on consecutive pass attempts. His best was to Burden, where Williams "threaded the needle" (per The Athletic's Kevin Fishbain) in the completion inside the five-yard line. While the final 11-on-11 red zone period wasn't pretty (more on that below), Williams still managed to put an exclamation on it with a touchdown on a read option.
The Bad
While Williams and the starting offense got off to a strong start, they did struggle during 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, per Pearson. During the low red zone 7-on-7 work, Williams completed just 1 of 5 passes (his completion coming to running back Kyle Monangai out of the backfield for a touchdown.) One of his incompletions was to rookie tight end Colston Loveland, who slipped and fell down and was unable to haul it in. Pearson noted that during 11-on-11 that Williams went 0-for-2 and was sacked. But Williams did use his legs to find the end zone on a read option.
The Noteworthy
The Bears used their first two draft picks on offensive weapons for Williams, so it's a good thing that both are already showcasing they can be impact players in this offense -- and favorite targets for the second-year quarterback. The past two days have been about Williams' connection with rookie tight end Colston Loveland. But Wednesday's practice showed that Williams also has a budding connection with rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III, who practiced in team drills for just the second time.
Burden was on the receiving end of two of the best plays of the day in this rather uneventful practice. On the first play, Williams hit Burden across the middle and the second-round rookie ran into the end zone prompting an ovation from the fans in attendance. On the second play, Burden made an impressive catch in the back of the end zone -- which Greg Braggs called "the play of the day" -- where it's up for debate whether he was in bounds or not. Still, it was a great catch.
It's worth noting that this is the first time Williams has had the opportunity to throw to Loveland and Burden as both missed the veteran portion of the offseason program due to injury. The more reps the young rookies get with Williams, the more dangerous this offense becomes.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Caleb Williams Watch: How Bears QB performed on Day 7 of training camp