In Caleb Williams, will the Bears finally find their next franchise quarterback?

The Bears haven't had a franchise quarterback since Sid Luckman.

Seriously. Look it up. (We did.)

Since Luckman played that role for the Bears from 1939 through 1948 (winning NFL championships in 1943 and 1946), the Bears have gone with Johnny Lujack, Steve Romanik, Bob Williams, George Blanda, Zeke Bratkowski, Ed Brown, Billy Wade, Rudy Bukich, Jack Concannon, Larry Rakestraw, Virgil Carter, Bobby Douglass, Kent Nix, Gary Huff, Bob Avellini, Mike Phipps, Vince Evans, Jim McMahon, Steve Fuller, Rusty Lisch, Greg Landry, Mike Tomczak, Doug Flutie, Mike Hohensee, Steve Bradley, Jim Harbaugh, Peter Tom Willis, Will Furrer, Steve Walsh, Erik Kramer, Dave Krieg, Rick Mirer, Steve Stenstrom, Moses Moreno, Shane Matthews, Cade McNown, Jim Miller, Chris Chandler, Henry Burris, Kordell Stewart, Rex Grossman, Craig Krensel, Chad Hutchinson, Jonathan Quinn, Kyle Orton, Brian Griese, Jay Cutler, Todd Collins, Caleb Hanie, Josh McCown, Jason Campbell, Jimmy Clausen, Matt Barkley, Brian Hoyer, Mitchell Trubisky, Mike Glennon, Chase Daniel, Nick Foles, Andy Dalton, Justin Fields, Trevor Siemian, Nathan Peterman, and Tyson Bagent.

With the first overall pick for the second straight year and with USC quarterback Caleb Williams entering the draft, the Bears finally might have a true franchise quarterback in their sights.

It has become more and more clear this week that the Bears will pick Williams and trade Fields. Comments from both G.M. Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus dramatically fueled that perception.

The Bears might have been waiting for someone to make them a viable offer for Fields. Now, they might simply be waiting for Fields to formally request a trade. That would make it less glaring if/when they don't get much for him. Regardless, they need to pull the trigger on a Fields trade before the game of free-agent quarterback musical chairs gets going.

I've gone from believing the Bears should trade the pick and maximize other picks (and perhaps players) to believing the Bears should take Williams. Williams has the skills to be great. And, based on our 10 minutes with him on Friday (the video is attached), he seems to have the desire to perfect his craft and the ability to get there.

In a case like this, it's far better to be wrong by picking him than to be wrong by passing on him.

So get ready, Bears fans. If Caleb wants to play in Chicago (and there's currently no reason to think he doesn't), he could be the first true franchise quarterback since Sid Luckman. And that could make the Bears into a consistent, annual threat to emerge from the NFC and get to the Super Bowl — if they can get the right coaching in place and put the right players around him.