Caleb Williams made the headlines over the weekend after addressing critics of his completion percentage on “Pardon My Take.” In what was his breakout season in 2025, the quarterback recorded a 58.1% completion rate, ranking 32nd among 33 eligible passers. However, he boldly stated there would be improvement on that.
However, the confident projection from Williams drew sharp criticism from Daniel Kelly of First Round Mock. The former New York Jets scout bluntly questioned whether the Chicago Bears quarterback possesses the fundamental changes needed to deliver on that promise.
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“There’s just one problem with Caleb Williams’ lip service,” Williams said. “Trying to raise his completion percentage means attempting to get the ball out on time — And that will be in direct conflict with his college and NFL history of holding the ball too long and his deep-seated hero complex.
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“Per Pro Football Focus — Williams’ “time to throw” during his three years in college was 3.51 seconds (2021), 3.24 seconds (2022), and 3.16 seconds (2023). Williams’ “time to throw” during his two years in the NFL was 3.03 seconds (2024) and 3.23 seconds (2025).”
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Daniel Kelly’s doubt in Caleb Williams comes despite the role he played in leading the Bears to the NFC North title last season. After highlighting his perceived disconnect between Williams’ words and his playing style, Daniel Kelly contends that there’s little proof available to believe he can improve his completion rate.
“I don’t mean any disrespect when I say ‘lip service,’ but there isn’t any historical evidence to support his quote,” Williams said. “Increasing the completion percentage in the NFL means getting the ball out on time. That’s not him. That’s not who he is. That’s not how he plays the game.”
What Caleb Williams said about his completion percentage
Caleb Williams’ accuracy has been a question mark over his first two years in the NFL. While he views some of those in completions as part of how he runs the Bears’ offense, he admitted he would like to improve the figure in the upcoming season.
“Obviously I want to get that up, get the completion percentage up, but some of the things that I do on the field, it negatively impact that,” Williams said. “But we’ll get it up this year just to shut everybody up and help everybody to understand.”
“I’ve looked up all the greatest guys, from Peyton (Manning) to Tom (Brady) to Patrick (Mahomes), all these different guys. On average, most of them are 65 to 63 completion, 62 completion, which is surprising. At least to me, it was surprising, because it was only two percent off, three percent off. So, we’ll get it up.”
During their careers, Peyton Manning had a completion percentage of 65.3% while Tom Brady had 64.3%. Thus far, Patrick Mahomes has 66.2%. Without a doubt, Caleb Williams showed significant improvement last season, compared to his rookie year, and it remains to be seen if he can get better in his accuracy come next season.
Edited by Farouk Yusuf
