Caleb Williams Stole the Show in Latest Meeting With Draft Class-Mate Drake Maye

For the rest of their NFL careers, Drake Maye and Caleb Williams will be compared to each other. Who was better? Who won more? Who did the most?

In April 2024, Williams was drafted No. 1 by the Bears, projected as a generational talent coming out of USC. After the Commanders selected Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 choice, the Patriots picked Maye at No. 3 from North Carolina. Williams and Maye were among six quarterbacks selected in the first round, including Bo Nix, Michael Penix Jr. and J.J. McCarthy, all going in the top 12 picks. 

On Thursday night, Maye and Williams met for the second time and first since both became stars at the highest level. The Bears won, beating the Patriots, 30–24, in primetime at Soldier Field. Williams stole the show, throwing for 308 yards and two touchdowns in victory, while Maye amassed 321 yards and a pair of scores, albeit with a costly second-quarter interception in the end zone.

Currently, Williams and Maye have a strong argument as the top quarterbacks of their class. While Daniels took Washington to an NFC title game in his rookie season, he has been hampered by injuries since and the Commanders are 1-4-1. Maye already has been to the Super Bowl as a second-team All-Pro and MVP runner-up, while Williams is helming a contending Chicago squad, entering Thursday night with a league-best 72.5% completion rate a year after taking the Bears to the NFC divisional round.

Should each continue on their trajectories, it’s fair to wonder how the future will view their respective draft slots. Perhaps no class of quarterbacks is more famous than 1983, when a half-dozen were selected in the first round, including a trio of Hall of Famers in John Elway (No. 1), Jim Kelly (No. 14) and Dan Marino (No. 27). With each going to AFC teams and staying there for the duration of their careers, there was plenty to compare. 

Marino was the best statistical performer, but lost to Kelly in the playoffs three times, including in the 1992 AFC championship game. Marino reached just one Super Bowl, losing in a ’84 campaign in which he won MVP honors with 5,084 yards and 48 touchdown passes (both records at the time), while Kelly reached four consecutive Super Bowls from ’90 to ’93, only to lose them all. As for Elway, he went to five Super Bowls with the Broncos. After losing the first three in decisive fashion, he broke through with consecutive rings in 1997 and ’98 to finish his career. 

Looking back, it’s arguable whether Elway or Marino should have been first off the board, but it’s laughable Marino and Kelly had to wait for Todd Blackledge to be picked by the Chiefs. It’s equally incredible Marino sat while Tony Eason and Ken O’Brien went to the Patriots and Jets, respectively. 

Back to the present, Maye and Williams have chances to enhance reputations and résumé this season. 

After a brutal start with one touchdown and six interceptions, Maye has righted himself since with 12 touchdowns and two picks to get New England to 4–3 and second place in the AFC East behind the Bills. Williams missed three games with a hamstring injury but has been great when healthy. In Week 1, he led Chicago to a 59-point outburst against the Panthers. Last weekend, he went 30-of-36 for 305 yards and a touchdown in a win over the Falcons. 

In a year with few elite teams, and the Super Bowl preseason favorites in the Rams sitting at 2–4 and injury-riddled, both the Patriots and Bears have legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. As is often the case, neither will get there without top-tier quarterback play, something each franchise believes its man is capable of based on draft slot and early returns. 

As the season heads for Halloween, New England is fighting to improve its standing in the playoff picture, while Chicago has its sights on chasing down the unbeaten Vikings for the NFC North lead. If both quarterbacks continue to produce at the level they have in recent weeks, there’s little reason both outcomes can’t be achieved.

There’s a long way to go this season. There’s an even longer road ahead for the duration of Williams and Maye in their NFL careers. 

On Thursday night, the duo played each other for the first time as star quarterbacks. Perhaps their next matchup comes on a far grander stage.