DETROIT — It’s official: Caleb Williams is a Chicago Bear as the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

Football’s worst-kept secret became public a few minutes after 7 p.m. CDT Thursday when the Bears, from their draft room at team headquarters in Lake Forest, sent an electronic message to Hart Plaza 326 miles away. Once that alert was received and the decision transcribed onto a card that was handed to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Williams’ long-awaited moment arrived.

The goal he set at age 10 of becoming the top pick in the draft was realized. And Bears fans’ recurring dream of finding a franchise quarterback to unlock a long run of championship contention was reawakened.

Williams, who had been notably relaxed during his time in Detroit, appeared to get a major adrenaline rush after he got the call from Bears general manager Ryan Poles and then heard Goodell announce his name. With an enthusiastic speed walk, Williams screamed with excitement as he reached the draft stage.

A little while later, he described the excitement.

“I didn’t know how I was going to react in the moment,” Williams said. “I was trying to think it through in my head throughout the process. But nothing feels better than actually being in the moment, actually getting that call. I didn’t feel nervous. I didn’t feel any of that. I was anxious and ready to go.”

It was pure excitement.

Yes, Chicago. We’re doing this again.

And Williams has a new buddy in his draft class in Rome Odunze, the talented wide receiver from Washington whom the Bears selected at No. 9 while Williams was working his way through the second floor of the Cadillac Center during a long circuit of interviews.

Indeed, there was another howl.

“I went crazy,” Williams said. “And then I went crazy again. And then I saw him. We dapped each other up. We shared a moment. It’s sick. It’s crazy that that came to fruition.”

In a draft loaded with first-round talent that created plenty of intrigue for Thursday’s 32-pick roll call, Williams distinguished himself as the top dog in a highly regarded quarterback class, creating one of the least suspenseful and most anticipated moments in recent draft memory.

In terms of skill set, the consensus among NFL talent evaluators is that Williams offers the total package. He is lauded most for his off-script playmaking gifts. He’s able to turn trash into treasure with his agility outside the pocket, feel for the game and rare arm talent that allows him to alter the velocity and arc on his throws to find the big play.

“Pure magic,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said.

Added Joel Klatt, a college football analyst for Fox Sports and a draft contributor to NFL Network: “Every quarterback has to have a superpower, at least to reach this point of being considered for the No. 1 pick. Caleb’s superpower, his best trait, is to not just be effective but to really hurt a defense when he’s creating. It’s not when he’s running but when he’s creating. His ability to throw with accuracy, power, leverage, touch, drive the ball — all on the run and off platform — is special.”

It would be a mistake, though, to classify Williams as a one-trick pony. Klatt studies quarterbacks across five key categories when projecting their NFL potential: arm talent, schematic intelligence, pocket passing production, on-the-move playmaking creativity and running ability.

“I have been evaluating quarterbacks for the draft for a little more than 10 years, and Caleb’s the only quarterback I have evaluated who is elite in all five of those categories,” Klatt said. “And that’s why for two years we’ve been talking about him as the No. 1 quarterback prospect.”

The Bears fell in love with Williams as a player through their scouting process over the last two seasons. In 2022 the USC quarterback threw for 4,537 yards, accounted for 52 total touchdowns, won the Heisman Trophy and revived the Trojans program during his first season on campus after transferring from Oklahoma.

His 2023 season wasn’t nearly as sparkling, as USC sputtered to a 7-5 regular season and Williams didn’t even crack the top 10 in Heisman voting. But he still threw for 3,633 yards and 30 touchdowns with five interceptions while propelling a Trojans offense that finished third in the Football Bowl Subdivision in scoring (41.8 points per game), fifth in passing (333 yards per game) and 10th in total offense (467.6 yards per game).

When the predraft vetting process reached the next level this winter and spring, Poles, Bears coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron set out to learn much more about Williams as a person.

What makes him tick? What knocks him off course? How passionate about football is he? How does he lead?

As Poles and Eberflus heard more about Williams from his teammates at both USC and Oklahoma, they were struck by how respected and admired he was.

“When you talk to his teammates, they don’t like him, they love him,” Poles said. “It’s his leadership, how he brings people together. He’s intentional with his leadership.”

The Bears first met with Williams briefly at the NFL scouting combine in February, then reunited with him in Los Angeles over parts of three days leading up to USC’s pro day in March. The team also hosted Williams at Halas Hall in April, the final step in confirming he had the makeup they wanted in order to take the steering wheel of the franchise.

It was after that trip to Lake Forest that Williams recognized his union with the Bears was imminent.

“I felt comfortable,” he said. “I felt good. I was happy and ready to go.”

Leading up to draft night, the Bears talked internally about Williams’ natural calm and self-assurance and noted how, during a monthslong predraft process in which rumor, speculation and judgment about his personality swirled through social media and sports debate shows, Williams seemed totally unruffled and comfortable navigating that space.