Caleb Williams is widely viewed by most talent evaluators as the closest thing the NFL will has seen since Patrick Mahomes and the type of player that can come in and instantly change the trajectory of a franchise.
This is why the Chicago Bears have a monumental decision on their hands. Most believe they will trade Justin Fields — who finally showed promise and potential in 2023 to be the franchise QB they drafted — and select Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in April’s 2024 NFL Draft.
“I just think he’s a rare, rare talent and I can’t see the Chicago Bears bypassing that,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said about Williams.
Jeremiah is one of the top talent evaluators in the media considering his time as a scout with the Ravens, Browns and Eagles before joining the NFL Network.
“He’s got an unbelievable amount of horsepower in terms of how he can generate velocity with arm, what he can do with the force with his legs, the creativity we all know about. I just think every quarterback has some risk. Do I wish he played on time a bit more? Sure. But I think (Patrick) Mahomes is the greatest example of that. You can kind of corral that without taking away the magic.”
Rick Spielman — who spent 16 years as the GM for the Minnesota Vikings after working his way up in scouting — gave the most glowing review of Williams so far. The longtime GM compared Williams to Andrew Luck, and said he would have taken him over the several of the first round QBs in recent history including Joe Burrow, Peyton Manning and even John Elway.
Spielman felt Williams would have gone first in the most recent draft class, over the first two picks in the 2023 draft, Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud. He quickly said he would have easily taken Williams over the reigning Heisman Trophy Trevor Lawrence, who went first overall in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Clemson. Spielman went further and said Williams is a better prospect coming out of USC than Joe Burrow coming out of LSU in 2020 as the first overall pick in that draft after winning a national title and Heisman Trophy in the 2019 season.
Spielman paused his Caleb Williams love temporarily when considering Andrew Luck, the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, had to offer coming out of Stanford.
That’s a toss-up,” Spielman said when asked who he would take first between the two. “Andrew Luck was one of those generational franchise quarterbacks, but, real close, I would go Luck ahead of Caleb. They are right there. Maybe 1A and 1B.”
He didn’t hesitate when declaring if he would have taken Caleb Williams over another Colts first overall draft pick from the 1998 NFL Draft, Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, whose five NFL MVPs are the most all time. Remember this exercise is comparing these quarterbacks as prospects to Williams now. Manning was also considered a generational prospect when he went pro.
“Caleb,” Spielman said when asked who he would take between Williams in 2024 or Manning coming out of Tennessee in 1998. “Peyton was, back then, a pocket passer. That was en vogue. I give Caleb the notch up just because of the athleticism.”
Same for another Colts first overall pick out of Stanford in Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway, the first selection of the 1983 NFL Draft.
“Caleb,” Spielman said confidently when asked who he would take between Williams in 2024 or Elway coming out of Tennessee in 1983.
Going back to today’s NFL, Spielman revealed there are only two quarterbacks he would take in the current NFL over Williams on a rookie deal: Mahomes and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
Former NFL Scout Gives Caleb Williams A 4th Round Grade For NFL Draft, Says Scouts Are Missing Obvious Red Flags In Scathing Report
Daniel Kelly spent four years as a scout for the New York Jets and now runs a website called firstround mock.com.
While he’s been blatantly wrong plenty of times, he’s been right about a few major prospects nobody else was viewing the same way at him at the time.
His first claim to fame was labeling Trey Lance a bust, when every other talent evaluator was tabbing him as a sure first-round can’t miss prospect. Colin Cowherd later referenced his scouting report on Lance once the 49ers had given up on him.
Colin Cowherd talking about my take on 49ers QB Trey Lance. https://t.co/vkhbm9LGTS
— FIRST ROUND MOCK (@firstroundmock) August 17, 2023
More impressively was Kelly’s grade on Brock Purdy, ranking him as the No. 2 QB prospect of his class which no other talent evaluator came close to placing the now 49ers star that high. He ended up being the very last pick of the NFL Draft and is on the verge of winning a Super Bowl in his second NFL season.
My pre-draft scouting report on Brock Purdy when I comped him to 2002 #NFL MVP Rich Gannon https://t.co/IfcG3T5ivy #49ers #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/6iyrHzcEP9
— FIRST ROUND MOCK (@firstroundmock) January 29, 2024
It’s almost impossible to find someone that doesn’t view Williams as a generational prospect, except Kelly. In his scathing scouting report, he gives the USC QB a socking fourth round NFL Draft grade and lists a bevy of reasons both off the field and on it. Check it out:
This time of the year is about teams doing background work and trying to get inside prospects’ heads. This is part of the evaluation process. I believe any team considering Caleb Williams needs to think about the high risk from the neck up based on Williams actions, conduct and words that he’s demonstrated. From painting his fingernails with obscenities aimed at opponents to refusing to shaking hands with Utah and refusing to speak to reporters after the UCLA game, Williams has given NFL owners and decision makers a lot to talk about. Sportsmanship? He also made a public statement after the Notre Dame game about a fan being like a sheep and referred to himself as a lion.
Will be paint some obscenity about the 49ers on his fingernails? Will he jump up into the stands again? Will he put down fans publicly when the microphone 🎤 is in his face after a loss and he’s feeling frustrated? During a press conference he said, “I want to go home and cuddle with my dog and watch some shows,” (USA TODAY)
What will he say in NFL press conferences? How will he represent his team and city? What’s he going to say or do next? That’s the question. He’s much closer to Johnny Manziel than Patrick Mahomes on the spectrum. I mean that with respect and sensitivity, but that’s what I would say if I was a scout sitting in the pre-draft meetings.
What I find incredible is that more people aren’t talking about this. Do we not care about him? We witnessed Caleb Williams having a mental breakdown right before our eyes crying uncontrollably in his mother’s arms. To me —as a former NFL Scout, he’s the most mentally fragile player I’ve ever evaluated, quarterback or otherwise. He has little experience dealing with adversity even by his own admission:
“I’ve never been in this situation, where I’m 7-5 and there are no playoff hopes at the end of the season. I’m dealing with it emotionally, dealing with it spiritually and physically.” (Los Angeles Times) And now we think he’s going to go into a team with a losing record and turn it around? He’s 2-9 against ranked college teams on top of it all— and now he’s going to do it in a league that’s only faster and more complex? Make it make sense. The mental pressure and expectations will be unbearable from day one. Training camp will look more like a rock concert.
Every practice throw will be followed by the paparazzi. Completion percentages in practices, all of it will become a public spectacle. The expectations are he’s Superman, but in reality he’s 22 years old. Statistically and on game film Williams regressed in 2023. This is not headed in the right direction 📉 I get team fan bases wanting to win and the mainstream media feeding off that hope, but underneath that we have to care about Caleb Williams as a person more than anything.
I personally feel for the young man. He’s in an impossible situation. Team owners and front office personnel have to consider this high risk. Watch his post game press conferences on YouTube over the last six weeks of the season (before UCLA).
Watch his body language and his eyes. Listen to his tone. Watch how he carries himself. His energy level is lower. He looks aloof at times. Look at his posture on the bench after the loss to Utah all slumped over. He’s giving us the signs. Even his team responded with more spirit and enthusiasm when QB Miller Moss made his first start in his absence in the Holiday Bowl.
The Trojans were heard reportedly shouting “We a team now! We a team now!” after the upset against Louisville. Quote by Miller Moss. Read between the lines. “I don’t think it’s as much about me as it is about the team,” Moss said after the game. “The emphasis is really to come together as a team. No ego, no individual. It’s all about us as a team bonding together, and that’s what we are to focus on moving forward.” This isn’t a one off, Caleb Williams has been sending us warning signs for two seasons.
That’s about as bad as it gets. Only time will tell if Kelly is right but he points out a few things that are worrisome while others could be viewed objectively.
