Quarterback study sees Caleb Williams as no 'checkdown Charlie'

Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams last year may have broken the statistical barometer with his play.

A classic label in the NFL is "checkdown Charlie," the term used for QBs who quickly dump it down to second, third or fourth receiver in their progression on a play without giving the bigger play a chance.
It's what critics of Williams started to label him when he did what no other rookie quarterback had ever done, and that's throw 354 straight passes without an interception.

They just saw the lack of interceptions and incorrectly assumed it was because he threw to softer targets all of the time.

The streak came to an end in a 6-3 loss Dec. 26 to Seattle.

Pro Football Focus' study into checkdowns, an aspect of play it looks at each year, determines Williams was definitely not checking the ball down too much.

In fact, all of Williams' critics in this regard have real egg on their faces because the Bears QB had the lowest checkdown rate of all quarterbacks in the league who had enough attempts to be included in the study. 

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Williams owned a 7.1% checkdown rate. He was just better than Brock Purdy (7.2%). Former Giants QB Daniel Jones (7.4%) and Rams QB Matthew Stafford (7.7%) were next.

While some might point to the list and say only lesser passers rate well on it, Jayden Daniels (9.3%) had the ninth-lowest checkdown rate, Josh Allen 10th (9.4%), Baker Mayfield was sixth (8.4%) and Tua Tagovailoa seventh (9.2%).

The study shows Russell Wilson had the highest checkdown rate at 19.2%, while Aaron Rodgers ranked second (14.5%) and Bo Nix third (14.3%). Jordan Love was fifth (13.0%).

When Williams checked down, he had a 67.0 PFF grade, for whatever that's worth. It put him near the middle of the league at 14th overall.

The more important part of this study is who was best when they did check down. In other words, who gained the most yards on passes when they checked it down. If you can gain yards on checkdowns, you've got the system beat because then you're gaining downfield on throws and on shorter throws.

It was none other than Jared Goff of the Lions at almost 8.5 yards per attempt. Of course, Goff's offensive coordinator who set this all up was Bears coach Ben Johnson.

If Johnson can get Williams into situations where checkdowns can result in 8.5 yards a pass, then he can have all the short throws he wants.

Williams' play last year in this regard is difficult for the PFF study to assess because while he didn't check down very often, what he did do was hold the ball too long and run around with it before actually scrambling or throwing it downfield.

The worst thing he did with it while holding it too long was get himself into position to be sacked, and this was a problem in college. It's part of the reason the Bears led the NFL in sacks allowed with 68, a franchise record.

The pass blocking was not good and neither was their line, as four straight seasons of 50 sacks or more allowed says. Williams was only in Chicago for one of those and they were bad blocking for Justin Fields, Andy Dalton and Nick Foles.

The Bears can look forward to those Johnson-designed plays that give the checkdown target plenty of space to maneuver because the defense can't decide who to cover tightly, resulting in plenty of yards after the catch.

The Lions, not surprisingly, led the NFL in yards after the catch last year.

When Johnson said his offense won't be exactly what it was in Detroit, this is one area he would love to have develop in Chicago. Then Williams' checkdown rate can climb and no one would care.

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