Robert Griffin III Says Caleb Williams Should ‘Pull An Eli Manning’ On The Bears

getty image composite

Back in 2004, Eli Manning was the number one overall pick in the NFL Draft by the then-San Diego Chargers.

The Chargers selected Manning despite the fact that he and his dad Archie had said Eli would never play for them.

Robert Griffin III wants Caleb Williams to do the same thing with the Chicago Bears, who hold the top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

“Caleb Williams should pull an Eli Manning and demand that the Chicago Bears do not draft him number one overall,” RG3 said on Monday.

“After everything that’s happened with just Justin Fields, can Caleb Williams really look at that and say, ‘You know what? This is an organization that has my best interests at heart, and they’re going to help develop me into the player that I want to be’?” Griffin wondered.

Griffin then brought up Caleb Williams saying that he wants to be “legendary” and “re-write history.”

“Eli Manning had power in that 2004 Draft. And he let the Chargers know, ‘Don’t draft me, I don’t believe in the direction your organization is going, and I don’t want to play there.’

“He refused to play for them and even threatened to sit out the entire season if they drafted him,” Griffin continued. “They still drafted him. … The Chargers traded him to New York for Phillip Rivers, a third-round pick, and also a first and fifth-round picks in the 2005 draft. What did Eli end up doing? He won two Super Bowls for the New York Giants and had a great career.”

RG3 also talked about how the Bears turned Justin Fields from the 11th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft into absolutely nothing that will help them in 2024.

Eli Manning would end up being traded to the New York Giants for draft picks that ended up netting the Chargers the aforementioned Rivers, kicker Nate Kaeding and linebacker Shawne Merriman. So both sides came out okay.

The Bears got … a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Not the same.