Caleb Williams Will Be The Fourth Quarterback Taken In The NFL Draft
Caleb Williams will be the fourth quarterback taken in this year’s NFL Draft.
He, as we all know, has been consistently viewed and regarded as the top prospect throughout the entire college football season. It’s been set in stone now, seemingly since last year, that he would go as the #1 pick this year, and it wouldn’t even be a debate.
That general assumption is under attack right now, for two main reasons. First off, the season he just had wasn’t as impressive as many were thinking it would be. That part is his fault. What isn’t his fault is that Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr., and Jayden Daniels (and maybe more) are simply better prospects than he is. But more on that later.
Issues, Concerns, and Problems
I understand why he is/was such a highly regarded prospect. The athleticism, escapability/creativity, impressive arm strength relative to his size, and accuracy no doubt make him an incredibly sought-after prospect. Those things are true, certainly. And that’s why he will be a top 5 pick. I’m not arguing that he’s bad or won’t be good in the NFL (I mean…), what I’m arguing is that any NFL GM who takes him over the three aforementioned players would be a fool.
Let’s get into some of the reasons why he’s so overrated and overhyped.
Reason a) is that he goes to USC. Not only that, but he plays for Lincoln Riley and, if you remember, USC was widely regarded as being a potential playoff team this year.
They went into the year with a lot of hype. An irrational amount of hype. And so did he. His going to USC matters because it cranks up the attention you receive from the media. USC hasn’t been good in a while, and it’s fun when USC is good, so, naturally, the media would want to talk about them… and therefore, him.
There’s a really large disconnect between how much media attention he received during the beginning of the year (and the overwhelmingly positive nature of it) and his actual play on the field. Did you ever hear Colin Cowherd or Joel Klatt raving about Drake Maye? No, of course not, because UNC football isn’t played in L.A. and has neither the history, fan base, or interest level of a football school like USC. It appears to me that part of the reason why Caleb’s so hyped up is simply because the media did it for us. They told us he was a stud, so we all believed it. And he played like a stud just enough for it to be justifiable… but not enough for him to be taken first overall.
The second thing that drives me crazy is the constant comparison to Patrick Mahomes. I’ve had to hear that so many times, and I’m sure you have too. They get compared because Mahomes has that classic gun-slinger feel; he can throw from different angles, is athletic enough to escape the rush, and strikes fear in the hearts of defenses when he rolls out right with that cannon he’s got. Caleb Williams hits some of those same points and does indeed look like a mini Patrick Mahomes at times.
This partially bothers me because Drake Maye fits that description way more than Caleb does, but mostly because the weight applied to those specific skills is far too high. People in the sports media world act like athleticism, throwing the ball at a funky angle, and having a rocket automatically means you will be a good quarterback (shout out to Zach Wilson). Patrick Mahomes is great for all those reasons, sure, but what really makes him the best quarterback of all time is what goes in between his ears. And that’s where Caleb falls short.
It doesn’t appear to me that Caleb has any mental shortcomings as it pertains to the sport of football; he seems to have a grasp on reading defenses and whatnot. His attitude, behavior, and general personality don’t seem to align with what you would want out of a franchise quarterback, however. Let’s just remind ourselves of all the things that have gone down with him recently.
He painted “Fuck Utah” on his fingernails last year (what beef could someone possibly have with Utah?) This year he did “Fuck UCLA” against his cross-town rival (makes more sense, but still questionable). He cried in his mom’s arms after a loss (I unequivocally support men’s mental health… but like, c’mon, man).
There were rumors about him not going to the league if there was a team at #1 that he didn’t like. There were rumors about him wanting an ownership stake in the team that drafts him (most likely a rumor, but if true, that’s absurd). Oh, I also forgot to mention that USC was ranked #6 going into the year and they finished 8-5. Not all of that is his fault. But yikes.
What is there to like about the guy? The guy just comes across as being overtly pretentious, entitled, and arrogant. There are a few other quarterbacks in this draft that not only don’t have those issues but are actually better than him at playing quarterback in the first place. They are all also bigger than he is. I’m going to run through them quickly, but it’s important to sing all of their praises given the title of this article implying their greatness.
Maye, Daniels, Penix Jr.
We’ll start with Drake Maye, also known as the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. 6 '4, 230, far more athletic than he gets credit for, great at the podium and in the locker room, has a rocket, and looks like what would be born if Josh Allen and Justin Herbert had a baby. Let me put it this way. If he had gone to USC, or an LSU, or even a Washington, he would far and away be the first overall pick in the draft. He is what the media acts like Caleb Williams is. I’m relatively partial to the guy, but anyone who can’t see that he isn’t the best quarterback in the draft, to me, is crazy.
Jayden Daniels is next. 6 '4, a Heisman Winner, an unbelievable athlete, is a non-stop highlight reel. I’m not going to sit here and act like I’ve watched all his film, but, based on what I’m familiar with about his game so far, I can’t see how/why he is any worse than Caleb Williams. He’s way bigger, strikes legitimate fear in the run game, appears to have a good mindset, and whatever weaknesses he has in the passing game are relative.
Michael Penix Jr. is next. I don’t want to fall victim to recency bias, but what this man did to Texas was a crime. The guy throws darts. His game reminds me a lot of CJ Stroud. He’s athletic enough, and big enough, but his main skill set is standing in the pocket and, like I said, throwing darts.
That aspect of playing quarterback doesn’t seem to matter to people that much anymore. The Bradys and Peytons and Big Bens got subbed out, and this newer, more athletic, more exciting version of a quarterback got subbed in (Mahomes, Allen, Lamar, etc.) Some of us seem to have forgotten that standing in the pocket, properly reading a defense, and throwing the ball with accuracy is the main job of a quarterback. Yes, he’s 23 years old, and yes, he’s had two ACL surgeries, but the guy is far too accurate and has too good of an arm to be passed up on.
This take comes very early in the pre-draft process, so I’m doing a decent amount of conjecturing here.
Will general managers pass on Penix because of the injuries and age? Is Daniels too skinny and not enough of a pure thrower? There are so many questions at this point and so few answers, but I have enough evidence to believe that Caleb Williams will be drafted after Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, and Michael Penix Jr.
The next time I go to get my nails done I’m asking the lady to write “F*** Caleb” on them.
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