Keller Williams scurried onto the stage, looked out, and screamed, “Wow! 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 seeking for decades.
“My goal is to make it to February as long as possible,” Williams said, referring to playing in the Super Bowl for a team that hasn’t hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in nearly 40 years.
The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner kicked off a historic NFL draft on Thursday night, with five other teams selecting quarterbacks in the first 12 picks, a record of five and four in the top 10. record for a shooting guard and tied the record for most quarterbacks in the first round.
The first half of the draft is almost entirely filled with offensive players.
A defensive player wasn’t drafted until UCLA rusher Laiatu Latu was drafted 15th overall by Indianapolis. This is the latest departure of a No. 1 defensive player.
The Bears opened with an easy pick, taking Williams No. 1 after deciding to pin their hopes on the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner at USC a few weeks ago.
“Care and love and support and wanting to win,” Williams said of what he brought to Chicago.
The Washington Commanders then drafted 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels out of LSU, and the New England Patriots selected North Carolina’s Derek Meyer with the third overall pick. It became the fourth of the first three picks for a quarterback.
With the eighth pick, the Atlanta Falcons made a shock decision by selecting Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. despite signing Kirk Cousins to a huge deal in free agency. contract. The Minnesota Vikings traded positions and took away JJ McCarthy, who led Michigan to a national championship, giving them five quarterbacks in the top 10 for the first time.
The Denver Broncos selected University of Oregon’s Bo Nix with the 12th overall pick in the first round, tying them with six quarterbacks in the first round of the 1983 draft. Three became Hall of Famers – John Elway, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly.
The Arizona Cardinals broke an early quarterback trend by selecting Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth overall pick. The Los Angeles Chargers drafted Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt instead of giving Justin Herbert a No. 1 wide receiver to replace Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, thus starting the Jim Harbaugh era.
The New York Giants then drafted LSU receiver Malik Nabors with the sixth pick. With the ninth pick, Washington wide receiver Roman Odunze was selected.
The New York Jets, who fell to No. 11, selected offensive tackle Olu Fashanu to provide more protection for Aaron Rodgers. The Las Vegas Raiders selected Georgia tight end Brock Bowers with the 13th overall pick. Taliese Fuaga, then the Colts grabbed Latu.
Previously, the newly selected first defensive player was No. 8. Bit selected Alabama edge Dallas Turner.
The Cincinnati Bengals selected Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims and the Los Angeles Rams selected Florida edge Jared Firth with the 19th overall pick, their first pick since 2016. First pick in the first round since Jared Goff.
Williams, wearing a navy suit with silver accents and a big smile on his face, gave Roger Goodell a bear hug, careful not to hold it too tight because the NFL commissioner had back surgery just three weeks ago.
Shortly after Goodell kicked off the festivities, rap icon Eminem took to the stage wearing a Lions sweatshirt and hat. The Motor City native pissed off fans before turning it over to Lions stars Goff, Aidan Hutchinson, Amon-La St. Brown and Hall of Famers Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson .
St. Brown led them in a chant of “Jar-ed Goff!” Johnson said curtly: “How’s the doe?”
The streets surrounding the Draft Theater were packed with an estimated 275,000 spectators, many wearing Honolulu Blue Lions jerseys, turning the NFL’s largest offseason event into a huge party.
The Lions cheered when they moved up five spots in a trade with Dallas to land Alabama cornerback Terion Arnold with the 24th pick.
Williams, 22, is the third quarterback Chicago has drafted in the first round in the past eight years, joining Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields. Last year they gave up Bryce Young and CJ Stroud and traded the No. 1 pick to Carolina in a blockbuster deal. As a result, this year the Panthers The team won the No. 1 pick with a record of 2 wins and 15 losses.
Williams ended his first press conference as a pro by yelling “Big Bear!”
Williams, a dual-threat player with a strong arm and ability to improvise, threw 93 touchdown passes and scored 27 in three seasons at Oklahoma State and USC. point.
Daniels, 23, played three seasons at Arizona State and two at LSU and led the nation with 4,946 yards of total offense last season.
“I don’t let football define me as a person,” Daniels said. “It’s something I do and I’m passionate about.”
Meyer is the second quarterback the Patriots have drafted in the first round since Tom Brady left. Mac Jones didn’t succeed, and now it’s Maye’s turn to be the man to be the man for a new era that begins without longtime coach Bill Belichick.
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected versatile Washington offensive lineman Troy Fortanu with the 20th overall pick. Jan Mitchell.
Wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the 23rd overall pick. The Bay Buccaneers selected Duke offensive lineman Graham Patton.
Missouri edge Darius Robinson went to Arizona. The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs reached an agreement with AFC rival Buffalo to move up and replace Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy with the 28th pick.
The Cowboys selected Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton and the Baltimore Ravens selected Clemson defensive back Nate Wiggins.
The defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers added another playmaker, adding Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, while the Carolina Panthers traded up for the final No. 32 pick in the first round Acquired South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette.
