National Football League

Caleb Williams' No. 1 pick odds see huge shift after Bears trade Justin Fields

Updated Mar. 18, 2024 12:05 p.m. ET

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Any doubts about what the Chicago Bears will do with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft have all but dissipated.

On Saturday, Chicago finally traded quarterback Justin Fields, sending him to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a conditional pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The pick will range from the fourth round to the sixth.

The move further amplifies the belief that the Bears will select USC quarterback and 2022 Heisman winner Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick.

Williams' odds of being selected with the first pick in the draft moved drastically after the trade. 

Let's dive into the latest from FanDuel Sportsbook.

ODDS TO BE THE FIRST PICK IN THE 2024 NFL DRAFT: *

Caleb Williams, USC: -5000 (bet $10 to win $10.20 total)
Jayden Daniels, LSU: +2500 (bet $10 to win $260 total)
Drake Maye, North Carolina: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State: +6000 (bet $10 to win $610 total)

* odds as of 3/18/24

Bears trade Justin Fields to Steelers for conditional 2025 6th-round pick

After the combine, Williams' odds of being drafted No. 1 overall sat at -1600. Early last week, those odds shifted to -2000. Following the Bears' trade of Fields, the odds immediately moved all the way to -4000. 

By Monday morning after the trade, those odds had moved even more to -5000.

Williams spoke to the media at the combine and expressed his confidence in where Chicago is as a franchise.

"The Bears [were a 7-10] team last year — that’s pretty good for a team that has the first pick," Williams said. "They got a good defense. They got good players on offense, and it’s pretty exciting if you could go into a situation like that."

How did his meeting with the Bears go?

"They were awesome," Williams said, adding that his only concern as an NFL player is to rack up victories.

"I want to go to a place that wants to win," he noted.

Caleb Williams and Drake Maye in Joel Klatt’s top 5 QBs in 2024 NFL Draft

FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt recently called Williams a "generational talent," lauding him for his ability to control the game from the pocket, his arm talent, movement and creation, being a threat as a runner and his understanding of schematics. 

"I find it incredibly rare and, in fact, it generally never happens, where a quarterback that I evaluate is excellent in all five categories," Klatt said. "Williams is top-level talent in every category.

"Normally, when I'm evaluating these quarterbacks for the draft, there's always at least one where you say, ‘Ehhh, average to below average in that one category. But he’s so good in the other ones that it makes up for it.' There's guys like that all over the place.

"This guy is top-end excellent in all five categories."

Will Caleb Williams be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft? Follow FOX Sports for the latest college football and NFL news.

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National Football League

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Jayden Daniels

Drake Maye

Caleb Williams

Chicago Bears

Washington Commanders

Marvin Harrison Jr.

Joel Klatt