Brad Biggs: Dream of what Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze can do as rookies — but the story is the Chicago Bears full roster
CHICAGO -- The list of rookie quarterback/wide receiver combinations that have taken the NFL by storm is pretty thin.
In fact, it’s difficult to come up with many rookie pairings that have gone big in Year 1 beyond Andy Dalton and A.J. Green (Cincinnati Bengals, 2010), Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton (Indianapolis Colts, 2012), Tony Banks and Eddie Kennison (St. Louis Rams, 1996) and Tim Couch and Kevin Johnson (Cleveland Browns, 1999).
Last season in Houston, C.J. Stroud and Tank Dell got off to a fantastic start before a broken left leg ended Dell’s season after 11 games with 47 receptions, 709 yards (15.1 average) and seven touchdowns.
It’s easy to get quickly carried away and can accomplish at the outset of their careers with the Chicago Bears even when attempting to zero in on what’s realistic considering the inherent challenges for rookies at each position. Failure for rookie quarterbacks is much more common than breakout seasons like Stroud experienced or even someone like Dalton, who was the first quarterback to throw 20 or more touchdown passes, win nine games and reach the playoffs as a rookie.
