The Chicago Bears have their franchise quarterback.

Chicago selected USC's Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday, and the NFC North team surely hopes he is the star signal-caller it has been searching for throughout much of its history.

While the Bears are the only team in the NFL to never have a quarterback throw for 4,000 yards in one season, Williams is talented enough to reach that mark as a rookie. After all, he won the 2022 Heisman Trophy while throwing for 4,537 yards in just 14 games at USC and will have no shortage of weapons surrounding him in the Windy City.

Social media had plenty of reactions to the No. 1 pick:

There was little doubt the Bears would take Williams with this selection, especially after they traded Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason. In fact, ESPN's Courtney Cronin reported Tuesday that the USC product was the only quarterback Chicago hosted with a top-30 visit.

The Bears were also the only team Williams visited in such a manner.

It's not very often the No. 1 overall pick goes to a team that was 7-10 overall and 5-3 in the final eight games the previous year, but the Bears traded the 2023 No. 1 pick to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a package that included wide receiver DJ Moore and this 2024 first-rounder that turned into the top choice.

As a result, Williams will be stepping into playoff expectations from the start.

He will have no shortage of talent around him with Moore, Keenan Allen, D'Andre Swift, Cole Kmet and Gerald Everett lining up in the skill positions and an improving offensive line that features some building blocks in Darnell Wright and Teven Jenkins.

There are enough pieces in place for Chicago to build on the momentum it created at the end of last season and push into playoff contention. Doing so will depend on Williams living up to the hype that will surround him throughout his rookie campaign.