“I think the biggest thing is does he fit in our culture and what we’re trying to do? And all signs were that he does, so that was positive.”

Edwards was at Halas Hall on Tuesday morning with right tackle Darnell Wright to accept the Brian Piccolo Awards, which are given annually to a Bears veteran and rookie who embody the “courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and sense of humor” for which Piccolo was known.

Edwards was tight-lipped about the dinner with Williams, but he did say there will be excitement for a rookie quarterback to come in and make waves.

“It’d be incredible for all of us, right?” Edwards said. “I think that’s the hope. Whoever comes in and whoever’s under center — whether it’s someone who’s here already or a new guy — we’re excited. We’ll embrace them and they’ll fit into our culture. Because I know our front office does their research for sure.”

Wright called Williams “a good player.”

“I think once all the media stuff dies down, he’ll get to work just like any other player would,” Wright said. “He’ll be good.”

Poles spoke extensively about Williams at the NFL owners meetings last month. He and Cunningham spent more time Tuesday during their predraft news conference talking about the more uncertain No. 9 pick the Bears will make Thursday night. (If Poles needed a hint about whom to consider, Williams tweeted that Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze was on his Tuesday morning flight to Detroit for the draft and declared himself a “Big fan!”)

But beyond that selection, Poles was asked about the big aspirations Williams will bring to Chicago. Williams declared in the fall he wants to win eight Super Bowls to surpass Tom Brady and hasn’t backed down from the grand statement.

“I love it,” Poles said. “I think we all should have huge goals. We have huge goals here — win multiple championships. And that’s what we shoot for.

“You’re more intentional when you have these goals. You have to live a certain way, you have to practice a certain way, you have to go about your business a certain way in order to accomplish those. If everything else is in line underneath that, that gets me excited.”

That feeling keeps building as the Bears inch closer to their big moment Thursday night. Poles insisted he wasn’t given a directive to keep quiet until then.

“It’s my personal deal,” he said. “And it lets us have some excitement on Thursday, right?”

The countdown is on.

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