What a strange week this had to be for Chicago Bears fans amid the annual summer exercise of surveying exactly how the rest of the league feels about their starting quarterback.Mike Sando’s always illuminating and intel-filled “Quarterback Tiers” launched Tuesday at The Athletic. In Chicago, there was much less scrolling than ever before, the “page down” function spared on many laptops.Yes, here indeed was Caleb Williams on the rise. From Tier 3 last season up into Tier 2, with a year-over-year jump of 12 pegs to No. 11 overall.That’s another sign of the times, with the Bears offense, led by its talented 24-year-old quarterback, generating significant buzz around the NFL.“I’ve got all these cutups on him, and I’m going, ‘This guy is special.’ He makes unbelievable throws, and he’s fearless,” one head coach told Sando. Like the others quoted, he spoke on condition of anonymity to share a candid evaluation.Bears HC Ben Johnson on how QB Caleb Williams can improveKevin FishbainSo what does it all mean? It’s enough to get the wheels turning.I’ve been thinking about Caleb Williams’ ascent.Sando began doing this project in 2014. His inaugural list had Jay Cutler — heading into his second season working with Bears coach Marc Trestman — in Tier 3 and at No. 17 overall, sandwiched between Cam Newton of the Panthers and Alex Smith of the Chiefs.Over the following 10 seasons, five other Bears quarterbacks were part of the project. Mike Glennon, Mitch Trubisky, Nick Foles, Andy Dalton and Justin Fields. Their average ranking: No. 25. Average tier: 3.5. Smack dab in the middle of mediocrity.So, yes, in a small way, the current assessment of Williams in league circles qualifies as a breakthrough. In Sando’s survey, no Bears quarterback had ever been in Tier 2 before. None had ever been viewed as a top-15 guy either.“He is an exciting player, definitely athletic,” a defensive coordinator said. “The good thing for him, just like Lamar (Jackson) and Josh (Allen) at this stage: It doesn’t look like the moment is too big for him.”For the record, the thumbnail criteria for a Tier 2 quarterback in Sando’s exercise are as follows.