WARE, England – Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has had a solid start to his rookie season. Jayden Daniels’ has been even better.

The Washington Commanders quarterback, who was drafted one slot below Williams at No. 2 overall has become the NFL’s latest fascination, turning in huge numbers and a dynamic plays on the regular.

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Williams’ early returns have been more of a steady ascent, from a rough start to an outstanding Week 5 performance against Carolina.

Comparing the two high picks is both natural and a bit silly, considering the different responsibilities within their given offensive schemes. Even the hot-take artists aren’t declaring victories or discussing buyer’s remorse at this point, with most saying that Williams and Daniels have been really good to this point with better yet to come. There’s no denying, though, that Daniels is off to a faster start.

“The human side of it is you want your guy to just take off and roll, but everyone’s journey is gonna be different,” general manager Ryan Poles said. “I think the important thing is for Caleb to understand that as well and run his own race, and he’s done that well in terms of just focusing on, ‘how can I get better, how can I put our team in a position to win games?’”

He has done that lately, as a major part of two wins and an orchestrator of comeback attempts in one-score losses. So, save that initial defense-led victory over Tennessee, Williams has been good.

Williams has shown an ability to learn quickly and adapt, a trait vital to realizing vast potential.

The man who selected him with the No. 1 overall pick, over everyone else, has taken notice.

“He’s learning how to play professional football,” Poles said. “And when I say that, that means to have a winning mentality in terms of what does it take to win football games from the quarterback position. And you’ve seen that in terms of the efficiency, protecting the football, taking what’s given to him and then, going into this last game, now explosives are starting to show up.

“I really like his progress, I love the work ethic and the time that he’s put into it, the grit and toughness, the ability to bounce back from tough games. He’s right where he should be and he’s continuing to get better.”

While he has gotten better in recent weeks, the competition hasn’t been great. The Rams and Panthers are beat-the-heck up on defense and have just two wins between them.

The Bears focus more on their operation and execution from their quarterback over matchups. With that scope, Poles found plenty that he believes will translate to production against better competition.

“I get the record part, but his operation part I thought was really clean,” Poles said. “I thought, from watching his eyes and just going through the process, it was more poised and controlled and he knew where to go with the ball faster. Those are all promising things to see, regardless of if you’re going against the scout team.

“And I think, too, you say, shouldn’t these things be ready to go at the end of the preseason? It’s a different speed. There are different combinations of guys out there. I think he’s done a good job of improving over the last few weeks.”

That includes his pocket presence. Poles was quick to point out that the offensive line forming a quality pocket with good depth has helped make Williams more dangerous in that space.

“Once he gets vertical, he has the ability to manipulate and stay alive to keep his eyes down the field,” Poles said. “But he does look more poised and I think that’s part of getting the reps and also understanding where everyone is going to be. And that trust too. I thought early there were some reps where he was drifting a little bit to the left side that caused even more pressure. He looks more calm and collected and moving through his progressions.”

Williams focuses on improvement in all the areas Poles discussed. He has a solid practice-week process of identifying issues, working on ways to remedy them and communicating with coaches on how he feels most comfortable operating the offense.

He doesn’t have time or care to compare how he’s doing against Daniels, Bo Nix or other rookie who may end up a starter this season.  

“Watching those guys, they’re out there balling, they’re out there doing their thing.” Williams said. “It’s expected and as they should. Watching them, I don’t feel any way. I want to go out there and play, be who I am, us be explosive as an offense, be myself, and that’s what I’m going to do. That’s what we focus on is being ourselves, going out there as an offense and as a team and trying to help each other go out there and win.

“That’s the only thing that matters at the end of the day. If you go look at anybody else’s — if you talk about anybody else, if you want to talk about any other sports, the only thing that people really mention — and it’s why Michael Jordan is the GOAT, because he wins. That’s the most important thing, the most important stat, the end-all, be-all.”