Bears' Caleb Williams trade value is worth two fewer 1st-round picks than Drake Maye

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Bears' Caleb Williams trade value is worth two fewer 1st-round picks than Drake Maye originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Chicago Bears finally looked to have cleared a hurdle during the 2025 NFL season. Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams meshed well together, and the team looked to be heading in the right direction.

Williams' breakout season could be met with another level of improvement in 2026, especially if he can reach 4,000 passing yards and be a little more accurate. But, as things stand now, it's hard not to see Williams as one of the most valuable QBs in the league.

ESPN's Bill Barnwell agrees, as he projects Williams to be worth well over a first-round pick. However, compared to New England Patriots QB Drake Maye, Williams is worth a decent amount less in a hypothetical trade.

Bears' Caleb Williams is worth less in a trade than Drake Maye​

"Four first-round picks: QB Caleb Williams," Barnwell projects. "I would argue that he lands somewhere between Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels, but I suspect that there's a wide band of opinions about all three and how they should rank."

Williams is projected as being worth four first-rounders. That's a lot of value, and it's the same cost applied to Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals.

But, compared to Maye, who's valued at six first-round picks (one fewer first than Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes), it's a big step down.

Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders is valued as less than Williams, though, as the QB who missed most of the 2025 season is worth three first-round picks and a bit more on top of that, according to Barnwell's projection.

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Williams, taken No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, is worth less than the No. 3 overall pick in Maye in the same draft class. While Maye reached the Super Bowl and nearly won MVP, Williams made it to the NFC Divisional Round and struggled a bit.

While he led an incredible comeback at the last second again, Williams threw three interceptions. He also, as Barnwell noted, had the worst completion percentage over expectation of all QBs during the regular season last year.

His ceiling might be incredibly high, but the floor is still a bit too low for Williams to reach the same tier of trade value as Maye and the other top superstar QBs in the NFL.

The Bears QB is still worth a lot, and four first-round picks are a ton of capital. But, from the Bears' perspective, Williams is priceless.

He's gotten the Bears out of mediocrity and gives the fan base hope. Williams might not be worth as much as Maye right now, but it would not be a surprise if he reached the same value, or surpassed him, after this upcoming 2026 season.

More NFL news:​

• It just got a lot harder for Cowboys to trade George Pickens
• If Bills trade Josh Allen, this would be the mind-blowing cost
• 49ers urged to trade Mac Jones if they receive an offer of at least a 2nd round pick
• Broncos urged to trade Riley Moss in move that’d make no sense
• Dolphins trade idea sends Jaylen Wright to Texans for late round draft pick

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