NFL draft Williams was widely projected to be one of the first players selected in the
2024 NFL draft and the top quarterback in the draft class. His improvisational abilities in college were touted by analysts as one of his biggest strengths, such as
ESPN's draft analyst
Mel Kiper Jr. describing Williams as a "fabulous playmaker", though skepticism was levied at his smaller size and tendency to play "hero ball" to find a better play rather than a safer option.
NFL.com draft writer
Lance Zierlein and
Bleacher Report's Derrik Klassen compared Williams' profile to
Kyler Murray, while
Fox Sports'
Bucky Brooks and
CBSSports.com drew parallels to
Russell Wilson and
Steve McNair. The
Chicago Bears selected Williams
first overall in the draft. Chicago had received the pick after trading the previous year's first overall selection to the
Carolina Panthers, and also acquired receiver
D. J. Moore and several other picks in said trade. He was one of six quarterbacks taken in the first round, tied with the
1983 draft for the most in NFL history. As his college number 13 was taken by
Keenan Allen, Williams switched to his high school number 18 in the NFL; the announcement was made less than half an hour after his draft selection. Williams' draft night merchandise sales value broke a
Fanatics record.
2024 season , 2024 Williams was named the Bears' starter in May. On July 17, he signed his four-year rookie contract, worth $39.4 million fully guaranteed. Williams was the first quarterback selected first overall to win their season-opening NFL debut since 2002, completing 14-of-29 passes for 93 yards with no touchdowns or turnovers in the 24–17 victory over the
Tennessee Titans. Two weeks later, Williams recorded his first two career touchdowns and set the Bears' single-game rookie passing record with 363 yards in a 21–16 loss to the
Indianapolis Colts. After a 1–2 start, Williams led victories over the
Los Angeles Rams and
Carolina Panthers, throwing for over 300 yards and two touchdowns against Carolina, becoming the first Bears rookie quarterback with multiple 300+ yard games. During Week 6 in London, Williams threw four touchdown passes in a 35–16 victory over the
Jacksonville Jaguars, leading Chicago to their first three-game win streak since 2020 heading into the bye week. During Week 8 against the
Washington Commanders, Williams led a late go-ahead touchdown drive, but the Bears lost on a last-second
Hail Mary pass, later dubbed the
Hail Maryland. Chicago's struggles continued with back-to-back losses to the
Arizona Cardinals and
New England Patriots. The Bears offense failed to score a touchdown and Williams was sacked 15 times, marking the first time since 2004 that Chicago did not score a touchdown in consecutive games. Williams ended his four-game touchdown drought in a Week 12 30–27 overtime loss to the
Minnesota Vikings, throwing for 340 yards, two touchdowns, and setting the Bears' rookie passing yards record. On
Thanksgiving against the
Detroit Lions on the road, Williams threw three touchdowns and set a rookie record for consecutive passes without an interception, but poor late-game clock management cost the Bears a chance at a comeback as they lost their sixth straight game, resulting in the firing of head coach
Matt Eberflus the following day. Williams led a game-winning drive in the season finale to snap the Bears' ten-game losing streak and their 11-game skid to the
Green Bay Packers, marking their first win against them since 2018; the victory also prevented Williams from tying
Troy Aikman's record for the most consecutive games lost by a first-overall rookie quarterback. Williams ended his rookie year with multiple Bears rookie passing records including completions, yards, and touchdown passes. He was also the first Bears quarterback to start every game in a season since
Jay Cutler in 2009 despite being sacked a franchise-high 68 times, the third most in NFL history.
2025 season , 2025 On January 20, 2025, the Bears hired
Ben Johnson as head coach. As the former offensive coordinator of the Lions, one of the major reasons for his hiring was to continue developing Williams as a quarterback. Williams scored his first NFL rushing touchdown on the first drive of the season, though the Bears lost 27–24 to the Vikings. During a Week 3 31–14 victory over the
Dallas Cowboys, whose defense was coached by Eberflus, Williams threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns, highlighted by a 65-yard
flea flicker to
Luther Burden III. Williams was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. In Week 9 against the
Cincinnati Bengals, Williams threw for 280 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught two passes on
trick plays from Moore for a two-yard score and backup quarterback
Tyson Bagent, for which Williams became the first starting quarterback with multiple receptions in a game since
George Taliaferro in 1953; Williams was the first Bears quarterback with a touchdown reception since
Matt Barkley in 2016 and the first to do so in addition to multiple touchdown passes after
Jim McMahon in 1985. With the Bears trailing by one point, he threw a game-winning 58-yard touchdown pass to
Colston Loveland with 17 seconds remaining to secure the 47–42 road victory. During the season, Williams developed a reputation for leading the Bears to fourth-quarter
comeback victories. In Week 10, the Bears were trailing the
New York Giants by ten points when Williams had a 29-yard run to set up a touchdown before running 17 yards for the go-ahead score. Williams had a muted performance in the Week 11 rematch with Minnesota, but avoided turnovers and quarterbacked the last drive where the Bears made the game-deciding kick as time expired; he was credited with his franchise record fifth comeback win of the season. He received the nickname "Iceman" from teammate
Luther Burden III in reference to his undeterred disposition under pressure, which other Bears players and media also adopted. Williams called the moniker a "cool name" and found it intriguing because "ice is calm, but underneath is pure energy. [...] I feel at my calmest on the outside, but there's a lot going on in the inside." The Bears and Packers split the two regular season meetings in their
rivalry for 2025, both of which ended with critical plays involving Williams and Packers cornerback
Keisean Nixon. In Week 14, the offense rallied from an anemic first half to trail by seven points with 3:37 remaining, reaching the Packers' 14-yard line when Williams' pass for
Cole Kmet was intercepted by Nixon. Two weeks later, Chicago erased a ten-point deficit before Williams tied the game on a fourth-down touchdown throw to
Jahdae Walker. In overtime, he threw the game-winning 46-yard score to Moore with Nixon covering him. The Week 16 victory tied him with
Peyton Manning for the most comeback wins by a player under the age of 25, while the winning touchdown to Moore was named the
NFL Moment of the Year at the
15th NFL Honors. The Bears' return to San Francisco in Week 17 saw what was described as a "duel" and a "true battle of gunslingers" between Williams and 49ers quarterback
Brock Purdy. Both teams combined for 936 yards and ten touchdowns, with Williams throwing for 330 yards and two touchdowns. Williams made his postseason debut in the wild card round of the
playoffs against the Packers. He struggled for the first three quarters as he threw two interceptions, including a third-quarter pick in the red zone, as Chicago trailed 21–6 entering the final quarter. The offense rebounded in the fourth via two touchdowns by Williams, including the go-ahead 25-yard score to Moore with 1:43 remaining. The 31–27 victory was the Bears' first playoff win since 2010 and made them the fourth team to win a playoff game after trailing by at least 15 points going into the fourth quarter. In the divisional round against the Rams, Williams had two touchdown passes but also threw three interceptions; he was last picked off thrice at USC in 2023. The second touchdown, which came with 27 seconds remaining, was lauded for its improbable nature: on fourth down from the Rams' 14-yard line, Williams faced a blitz that forced him to scramble back to the 40 before throwing a basketball-style
fadeaway pass to Kmet in the end zone. While it was officially a 14-yard touchdown, the ball traveled over 51 yards through the air. Although the score tied the game and forced overtime, he threw his third interception that set up the Rams' winning field goal. ==Career statistics==