Caleb Williams had dinner with the Bears before his pro day. Here's why that's important

Caleb Williams had dinner with the Bears before his pro day. Here's why that's important originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

The Bears met with Caleb Williams and had dinner with him ahead of his pro day, according to Steve Wyche on the NFL+ stream of USC's pro day on Wednesday.

What did Williams take away from that dinner?

"It was great. I don't think I really needed to learn much," Williams said after his pro day. "It's just building a relationship. They're trying to see if I'm the right fit to be the first pick as a QB and go and possibly be the face of the franchise. They're trying to figure out if this is the guy they should invest all the time, energy, effort and money into, which is obviously important in this situation. It was great. Just building relationships."

Why is this important?

The Bears were the only team to find time with him before his pro day. Williams told teams he would find time for them after his pro day, but made an exception for the Bears, according to a report from NFL Network.

According to the Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs, the Bears also spent considerable time with him the day before his pro day on Tuesday.

"On Tuesday, the team spent nearly half the day on campus with Williams at the football facility: talking ball, doing work on the whiteboard and watching film. Williams’ attention to detail struck the Bears. He was the one taking notes — not team officials — as they studied the game and sought insight into Williams’ acumen and how he processes and learns."

Williams is building a relationship with the Bears. The Bears had a strong cohort with them in Southern California with nearly 10 guys including Ryan Poles, Ian Cunningham, Matt Eberflus, Shane Waldron, Kerry Joseph, etc.

The next step for the Bears? A top-30 visit. When the Bears bring him to Halas Hall soon, they'll nail down the final steps in their evaluation. They'll be able to have an in-depth conversation with him to evaluate his character.

They'll also be able to do medical testing on him, which he refused to do for any teams at the NFL combine. He said he would do medicals for teams that have a chance to draft him, including the Bears.

But right now, Williams is focused on getting himself draft-ready.

"We're still figuring out the visits out," Williams told NFL Network. "We'll have all of that solved pretty soon. We wanted to make sure we came out here, put on a show for everybody and focus in on my training for my first game and OTAs of the NFL."

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