While several items concerning the 2024 NFL Draft are still up in the air, the fact that USC quarterback Caleb Williams is considered a top prospect seems to have been set in stone for a little over a year now. With plenty of speculation leading into the new calendar year, Dan Graziano of ESPN reports that “there’s some thought around the league that Washington is very interested in Caleb Williams.” 
Now, Williams is a popular bet to be the first name called in the draft as the No. 1 overall selection, a pick that the Commanders (4-11) are not currently in the position to make. That pick is currently owned by the Bears, who are in possession of the Panthers’ (2-13) first round selection. Carolina does not have the league’s worst record wrapped up, though. The Cardinals (3-12) could lose out and take the top spot should Carolina win a game. If Carolina wins out and Arizona wins a game, the Commanders and Patriots (4-11) could lose out and create a logjam at 4-13.
In the case that all four teams end up with the same record, the first tiebreaker is based on strength of schedule, with the team possessing the weakest strength of schedule getting the highest draft pick. Currently, the Commanders hold the weakest strength of schedule of those four teams, but with remaining games against the 49ers and Cowboys (the strongest remaining schedule in the league), that could change. Still, Washington holds an outside shot at possessing the top draft selection naturally.
If that doesn’t pan out, though, the Commanders could still attempt to acquire the pick in a trade. We saw the Panthers give up a bundle in order to obtain the top draft pick just last year. That bundle included a top player (D.J. Moore), two first-round picks (2023 & 2024), and two second-round picks (2023 & 2025). A similar bundle would be necessary in order for Washington to move up, though trading another top-five pick could help sweeten the pot on its own. The Commanders traded away a couple of top defenders in Montez Sweat and Chase Young before the deadline, so they’ve stocked up a few assets that they could deploy if necessary.
The bigger question comes with the team’s current quarterback situation. It was initially thought that the picks acquired in the above-mentioned trades would be used to build around second-year passer Sam Howell, whom most tabbed as the team’s next franchise quarterback. A month and a half later, though, and Howell has now been benched in two straight contests in favor of veteran Jacoby Brissett.
It’s become the popular opinion that Washington will be pursuing an addition to their quarterbacks room in the offseason. Many have called to watch the final two weeks of the regular season as an indicator for Howell’s future. Well, with Brissett set to start in Week 17, we may be seeing the end of Howell’s opportunity in Washington.
Enter Williams. A native of Washington, D.C., Williams has nearly guaranteed that he will be the top passer off the board, if not the top player off the board. It seems like, given the available options, the Commanders could certainly be all in on Williams given the chance. If Washington is unable to obtain the top pick and Williams is selected before they have a chance to draft him, North Carolina quarterback, and Howell’s former college teammate, Drake Maye would likely be the next top quarterback available in the draft, creating an interesting scenario in its own right.
I know that we’ve long considered Williams to be the top player and/or passer of thus draft, but are we or should we be convinced that he is so much of a can’t miss prospect that teams should have a bidding war for the right to select him?
Maybe I’m not just not so high on Williams or Maye, both if whom seem like fine prospects with a lot of upside. Neither seem to be generational in my eyes, personally, but I’m saying this as a casual observer on the couch. Perhaps someone here could correct me as to why Williams or possibly Maye is worth a trade up to number one to tie a franchise’s future to him. It just seems like big ask to me in a trade for a pretty good but not generational prospect. I’m predicting not that either will fail, far from it, but a trade like that should raise expectations for the return (especially one that will, in all likelihood, set the tone for the new ownership group).
Williams is a smaller and lighter version of Justin Fields. Stay away. Very far away. You read it here first.
Williams is a far better passer than Fields. I know that is an extremely low bar as Fields is a terrible thrower of the football, but it is still true. He might not be the next Joe Montana, but he is also not Justin Fields.
What happens when Williams plays a good defense though? Are there a bunch of NFL teams comprised of the garbage that he puts his stats up against? I wouldn’t touch him with a 1st ROUND puck, let alone 1st overall. Hope the kid succeeds wherever he goes but IMO he is not even 1 of the top 2 QBs. Time will tell.
That is probably true and a safe thing to say about every QB “prospect”. When your team picks a QB in the first round, the chances that you just got Josh Rosen, Heath Shuler, or Rick Mirer, are astronomically higher than the chance that your team just picked Patrick Mahomes. Add the fact that teams drafting at the top of the draft have bad rosters, bad coaching, and usually both leads to a situation where you are not going out on a limb to say that a highly drafted QB will fail. But Williams is still a better passer than Justin Fields.
I agree completely. Williams is not a runner primarily, as well. Again, not predicting any level of success here, but whatever ends Williams will reach in his pro career, it/they will be reached in a different specific way than Fields’ will be.
Pretty sure if carolina loses one more game, the number one spot is locked up. Read it from multiple sources.
Don’t be surprised if Carolina beats Jacksonville Sunday
JAX is a mess, but not sure they are THAT much of a mess.
Wouldn’t it be a hoot if Carolina pulls a Josh Rosen move and jettisons Bryce Young?
Well, it’ll probably be a welcome move for Young.
How funny would it be if commanders traded the pick they got for sweat back to the bears in a deal for Williams.
I don’t see a 3rd and 41st pick to move up to 1st overall. Not buying into the new ownership wanting a high 1st round QB. However, I like what you are putting down, great ironic storyline.
only thing Caleb Williams will be remembered for is crying on his Momma’s shoulder after losing to Notre Dame
I don’t see the Bears moving off this time and they played themselves out of their pick being top 4. If they plan on staying with Fields they need to pick Marvin Harrison Jr. I guess if they don’t want him they can trade back and take an Olinemen. They stay at 1 for a QB too.
Washington should stick with Howell. Given some better OL line support and a rushing attack he can be effective. I think he’s a decent team leader with his teammates having confidence in him.
QB drafted by NFC East club is touted as the Next Big Thing. We all saw how that worked for Nick Foles and Daniel Jones.
Not sure that I understand the point of this comment-should the NFC East never pick another top quarterback?