Caleb Williams vs. Jayden Daniels could be football’s Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird: Silvy

Choose your own adventure.

The Bears made their selections, and it’s the reason why the Commanders look the way they do, as well. General manager Ryan Poles is responsible for both teams’ path, and it makes the drama between these two up-and-coming teams even more juicy than just 5-2 vs. 4-2.

The obvious one and the main talking point for this game will be Caleb Williams vs. Jayden Daniels, even if the matchup doesn’t play out on the field this time.

The debate could continue for a while, and sign me up if it turns out to be the modern day, football version of Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson – and I wouldn’t care which of the two Williams ends up being.

I believe Caleb has more of the Magic flair, and many compare his ability to escape the pocket to Houdini. It adds to the intrigue that Williams also is from the Washington, D.C., area and would’ve been a hometown hero for Commanders fans.

Besides living on his own as a high school student in an apartment to be closer to his high school, Williams hasn’t returned to the area in a while. At one point, many thought Williams would play college ball at Maryland but instead opted to follow coach Lincoln Riley.

For now, Washington fans are quite happy with Daniels falling to them at No. 2 in the draft, with the Bears taking Williams first. Even former Commanders head coach Ron Rivera told us on ESPN 1000 that he’d rather have Daniels than Williams, and he’d have every reason to pick against Washington after they recently fired him.

While I love Riviera and once produced his radio show after he retired as a player, I could not disagree with “Chico” more. I appreciate and admire what Daniels has done to open his career and am even surprised with the extent of his success, but I’m thrilled that Caleb is a Bear. The sky should be the limit and I’m expecting a big game after having the bye week to digest his first six games. Put me down for three more passing touchdowns and 275 yards through the air in a Bears win.

The connections between the Bears and Commanders began long before Caleb vs. Jayden.

Almost three years ago, the Bears commenced their search for a new general manager and head coach. George McCaskey assembled a five-person committee that included Hall of Famer Bill Polian.

Instead of interviewing the GM candidates first, the committee spoke to head coaches simultaneously.

At that point, at least two members of the committee favored Dan Quinn over Matt Eberflus. Once Ryan Poles was hired, Poles went on his own to hire Eberflus. Two years later, Quinn is now running the show for the Commanders.

This isn’t to say the Bears got anything wrong. Quite frankly, this is the most optimistic I’ve been about the long-term future of my favorite football team since the Lovie Smith/Jerry Angelo era.

The Commanders are an interesting case study of what the Bears could’ve looked like in an alternate universe.

Finally, there’s the decision at offensive coordinator that both Poles and Eberflus made this offseason. One of the obvious candidates was USC offensive analyst and former Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury. He was with Williams for a year, coached Patrick Mahomes in college and has the Air Raid offense.

Most believe the Bears’ motivation to talk to Kingsbury was to go on a fact-finding mission regarding Williams, although Eberflus denied that this week.

The Bears thought Shane Waldron would be the better fit, and Kingsbury now is calling the plays for Daniels. It’s worked out well for the Commanders, who are tied for first in the NFL in points per game and are fourth in yards per game. The Bears rank 12th in points and 24th in yards, but Waldron has been terrific in the Bears’ past two games and has balanced the attack more with the run game.

Of course there’s also the subplot of Montez Sweat returning to face his old team. Sweat accomplished the rare feat of leading the Commanders and Bears in sacks last season.

So there’s no shortage of drama in this nationally televised game between the two teams. It’s nice to be able to watch one of your local teams on TV these days.

And while a lot will be made between these two QBs, everyone inside Halas Hall should only make it about themselves. Whether Daniels plays or not, we should all be happy if Williams continues on his path to greatness. And if that’s the case, I won’t care about any other QB.

Out of the bye, I’ve got the Bears at 6-5 the rest of the way, with wins against the Commanders, Cardinals, Patriots and Seahawks and a 2-4 record against the division.

The adventure I choose is the playoffs.

• Marc Silverman shares his opinions on the Bears weekly for Shaw Local. Tune in and listen to the “Waddle & Silvy” show weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m. on ESPN 1000.