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Caleb Williams

Patriots Have Scouted Top QB Prospects

October 30th, 2023 at 8:56pm CST by Ben Levine

The Patriots currently sit at the bottom of the AFC, and if their struggles continue, the organization will be picking towards the top of next year’s draft. So, it probably isn’t much of a coincidence that the Patriots have scouted some of the top quarterback prospects.

During an appearance on NBC Sports Boston, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer revealed that the Patriots have sent personnel to games for “every one of the top quarterbacks except Caleb Williams.”

“I can tell you guys for a fact the Patriots have had live game exposure — and remember, you have to make decisions on where you go with your scouts — they’ve had live game exposure to every one of the top quarterbacks except Caleb Williams,” Breer said (via NBCSportsBoston.com). “I’m sure they’ll get to Caleb soon. So they are taking a very hard look at these guys.”

Williams is the prize of the draft class but would require the first-overall pick. If New England doesn’t finish with the worst record in the NFL (and fails to work out a trade for the selection), they could pivot to North Carolina’s Drake Maye, who is also expected to hear his name at the beginning of the draft. Washington quarterback and Heisman-Trophy favorite Michael Penix Jr. is also a projected first-round pick, as is Oregon’s Bo Nix.

Thanks to Tom Brady, the Patriots went decades without selecting a quarterback in the first round. Mac Jones was the 15th-overall pick in the 2021 draft, making him the first Round 1 QB to be selected by the organization since Drew Bledsoe in 1993. Following a one-year stint with Cam Newton under center, the Patriots handed Jones the reins during his rookie campaign. The Alabama product looked like a hit, earning a Pro Bowl nod while also guiding his team to the playoffs.

However, his 2022 seasons was mired by benchings and a questionable offensive coaching staff led by Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. The Patriots brought in Bill O’Brien to help fix the offense, but the third-year quarterback has continued to struggle. Jones has tossed nine touchdowns vs. a league-leading eight interceptions while playing a major role in the Patriots’ 2-6 record.

Jones still has at least a year remaining on his rookie contract (depending on the fifth-year-option decision during the offseason), so the Patriots aren’t in a rush to replace him. However, Jones also hasn’t shown enough to stop the front office from using a top-five pick at the position during the 2024 draft.

Caleb Williams Not Certain To Enter 2024 NFL Draft?

August 28th, 2023 at 2:47pm CST by Rory Parks

The 2023 college football season is underway, and USC quarterback Caleb Williams led his team to a resounding victory over San Jose State in the first game of the campaign by completing 18 of 25 passes for 278 yards and four TDs. Williams, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner who has drawn favorable comparisons to quarterbacks like Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, and Trevor Lawrence, is off to a hot start.

Assuming that he continues to perform at a high level and does not suffer a major injury, there is every reason to believe that Williams will be the first player selected in next year’s NFL draft (or at least the first QB). Indeed, as ESPN’s Pete Thamel writes, Williams’ father, Carl, asked schools when his son was being recruited how those schools planned to help Caleb on the path to becoming the NFL’s No. 1 overall pick in 2024.

However, Williams is still leaving his options open, and he suggested that he could remain with the Trojans for what would be his senior season next year.

“That’s for sure now going to be an in-the-moment decision at the end of the year,” Williams said. “It’s my third year, and the dream and goal was to go three-and-out (to turn pro after three seasons in college). Being around these guys and in college and enjoying it, we’ll have to see at the end of this year.”

On the one hand, it’s not surprising for a player in Williams’ situation to be non-committal, even if he has every intention of entering the draft as soon as he is eligible to do so. After all, there is still a long way to go between now and the time when he must declare for the draft, and it stands to reason that his focus is currently on helping USC win football games (which will only help his draft stock). But ESPN’s Matt Miller has heard that if the team that would be most likely to select Williams is not a team that Williams wants to play for, the talented passer could forego the draft and try again in 2025.

Obviously, that would be an exceedingly risky strategy that could backfire in a big way. If Miller’s sources are accurate, it could also create a scenario like the one that unfolded in 2004, when the Chargers held the No. 1 overall pick and hoped to make Eli Manning their long-term signal-caller. Manning had made it clear, however, that he did not want to play for the San Diego franchise, so while the Chargers did draft the Ole Miss product, they quickly swung a deal with the Giants whereby Manning wound up with Big Blue and Philip Rivers landed with the Chargers, a transaction that had an indelible impact on both clubs and on the league as a whole.

Another factor at play here is the fact that collegians are now entitled to earn money through Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) ventures, and as one of the top athletes in all of college sports, Williams has taken full advantage of that. As noted in a recent article by the Sports Business Journal, Williams has built a “seven-figure portfolio” through deals with brands like Beats by Dre and PlayStation, so he may have the financial wherewithal to pass on an NFL landing spot that he considers less than ideal.

Williams spent 2021, his first college season, at Oklahoma before transferring to USC in 2022. Across those two years, he completed 469 of 711 passes (a 65.9% completion rate) for 67 TDs against just nine interceptions. He also carried the ball 192 times for 824 yards (a 4.3 YPC rate) and 16 scores.

QB Notes: Hooker, Dolphins, Watson, Draft

July 13th, 2023 at 3:32pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Lions added one of the draft’s most talked-about quarterbacks in Hendon Hooker. The third-rounder is rehabbing the ACL tear which ended his college career, and 2023 is not expected to see him on the field much, if at all.

Hooker has been making progress in his recovery, however, and he indicated last month that he is ahead of schedule. Detroit has no need to rush the Tennessee alum, with veteran Jared Goff in place and high expectations for the offense as a whole after last year’s performance. Hooker remains on a positive track to be available at some point during the year.

The 25-year-old said that he is “progressing very well,” via Cora Hall of the Knoxville News Sentinel. The Lions are not thought to be seeking an addition to their QB room, pointing further to Hooker being available if need be, perhaps as early as the fall. His recovery will be worth watching during training camp and the preseason.

Here are some other quarterback-related notes:

  • Plenty of attention will be focused on the pivot position during the season for the Dolphins, given the health uncertainty surrounding Tua Tagovailoa. The backup spot is up for grabs this summer, with 2022 second-rounder Skylar Thompson and free agent signing Mike White vying for the QB2 role. The former “appears to have the early lead” in the competition, per Adam Beasley of Pro Football Network. Thompson made two starts to close out the regular season, and was in place for the team’s narrow playoff loss to the Bills. Moving on from veteran Teddy Bridgewater, Miami inked White to a two-year, $8MM deal. That investment was larger than the team anticipated they would make, and it is noteworthy White could be third in the pecking order heading into training camp. Beasley notes that the Dolphins’ Week 1 backup may not yet be on the current roster, and Bridgewater is one of a few veterans still on the open market.
  • Deshaun Watson‘s 11-game suspension made his debut Browns campaign a shortened one, and his brief stint at the end of the season was far from the Pro Bowl level of production he has demonstrated earlier in his career. During his first full offseason in Cleveland, though, the returns have been impressive. Watson drew positive reviews for his work in the spring in addressing the issues most prevalent in his 2022 play, as noted by Pro Football Network’s Adam Caplan. A step forward from the 27-year-old – along with the Browns’ re-tooled receiver room – would go a long way in helping Cleveland return to the postseason and justifying the team’s enormous investment (in both trade capital and finances) in him.
  • The 2024 draft class is headlined by a few highly-touted passers, and it comes as no surprise that USC’s Caleb Williams and North Carolina’s Drake Maye are receiving the most attention at the top of the board. The pair are thought to be in a QB tier of their own entering the college season, as detailed by Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. Williams won the Heisman trophy in 2022 and has drawn comparisons to Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck and Trevor Lawrence with respect to how he is rated as an NFL prospect. Maye, meanwhile, finds himself behind Williams in summer rankings, but trainer Jordan Palmer (one of the evaluators with whom Breer discussed the top QB prospects) stated that he would be the No. 1 option at the position in most drafts. Wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. has been named as a possible contender for the top pick in April, but Williams and Maye likely represent the favorites for that distinction heading into the fall.

Latest On Texans’ No. 2 Overall Pick

April 21st, 2023 at 1:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

A stream of skepticism about the Texans taking C.J. Stroud second overall has come out over the past few weeks. With Bryce Young all but certain to go No. 1 overall to the Panthers, Stroud’s chances to be the next name announced may depend on trade offers the Texans receive.

Nick Caserio said teams have called regarding Houston’s No. 2 pick, and if genuine interest exists in Stroud, rumblings about a Texans trade-down will intensify as we move closer to the draft. The Texans passing on a QB at 2 and rolling the dice ahead of Caserio’s third season in charge — which the GM insists will take place, rather than an abrupt exit — would be one of the more interesting draft decisions in recent memory, but that appears to be where this is headed.

Some on Houston’s staff do not appear as high on Stroud compared to Young, whom the Texans presumably targeted when they entered trade talks with the Bears for No. 1, and Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post notes the team’s interest in taking Will Levis or Anthony Richardson that high does not appear strong. A previous report indicated a value gap between Young and the other QBs existed in Houston as well. This would open the door to a pass rusher pick, and La Canfora adds more fuel to the Tyree Wilson-over-Will Anderson Jr. fire by indicating execs expect the Texans — should they be unable to trade the pick — to take the Texas Tech edge rusher over Alabama’s two-time Bronko Nagurski award winner.

Stroud’s choice of agent may at least be a fringe issue for the Texans. Deshaun Watson‘s agent, David Mulugheta, is representing Stroud. The bad blood between Mulugheta and Texans ownership dates to Watson — before the run of sexual misconduct allegations surfaced — asking for a trade months after signing a four-year extension. One anonymous GM offers that Mulugheta’s top 2023 rookie client becoming the face of the Texans would be a “nonstarter” for owner Cal McNair, La Canfora adds. As could be expected, the Texans are not exactly over the Watson ugliness that included a paid full-season absence and a settlement with 30 Watson accusers who had sued the team or were preparing to do so.

While the agent component would serve as an interesting reason to pass on a well-regarded quarterback, Texans coaches also being iffy on Stroud may bring enough concerns to follow through with a non-QB pick or trade-down scenario. In the event the Texans can move down, La Canfora adds the Texans would want to stay in the top 10. That would wall off the Titans at No. 11; Houston trading up so Tennessee can take a quarterback would be an unusual development as well. The Titans, who joined the Raiders in venturing to QB pro days but not in hosting passers on visits, loom as a wild card. They have both been connected to moving up and being too iffy on the QB crop to do so.

The Raiders and Falcons continue to generate buzz as a trade-up candidates, per La Canfora, who adds a Titans move up — be it to No. 2 or the Cardinals’ No. 3 slot — would most likely be for Stroud. The Raiders have done extensive homework on QBs, meeting with the five top prospects, while the Falcons hosted Stroud on a visit this week.

Were the Texans to pass on a QB, they would essentially be further delaying their rebuild. The team trading down only to use its No. 12 overall pick to move back up for a passer would bring some odd complications to a process that could wrap by simply drafting a passer at 2. While other roster areas appear somewhat improved from 2022, Houston waiting until 2024 to acquire its franchise-QB hopeful would extend this already-lengthy rebuild. Then again, team connections to using a top-10 selection on a quarterback often include talk of that franchise not expecting to be picking high again. That has not been an issue for the Texans, who have either landed a top-three pick or seen their draft choice fall in that territory in each of the past three years.

And, if the Texans actually exit the first round with Case Keenum and Davis Mills as their top QBs, Caleb Williams (USC) and Drake Maye (North Carolina) continue to generate considerable attention around the NFL a year away from their draft eligibility.

USC QB Caleb Williams Potential 2024 No. 1 Pick

December 16th, 2022 at 10:24pm CST by Ely Allen

When USC met with UCLA in the teams’ annual matchup, scouts were present to evaluate both teams’ rosters. While many were watching draft-eligible players, two scouts couldn’t help but notice USC quarterback Caleb Williams despite the 20-year-old not being draft-eligible until next year, according to Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times.

Williams put on a show for the scouts in an offensive shootout, completing nearly 75% of his passes for 470 yards and two touchdowns through the air, adding on 33 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown, as well. This was more of the same for Williams who arrived on the college football scene last season at Oklahoma. Over 11 games, seven of them starts, with the Sooners, Williams passed for 1,912 yards and 21 touchdowns with four interceptions.

After transferring alongside head coach Lincoln Riley to Southern California, Williams exploded as a sophomore. He improved all his passing numbers as a full-time starter throwing for 4,075 yards and 37 touchdowns while still limiting his interceptions to just four through 13 games so far this year. He is set to play in the Cotton Bowl against Tulane after a defeat to the Pac-12 Champion Utes knocked the Trojans out of the College Football Playoff race. Williams was rewarded for his strong season with a Heisman Trophy, a Maxwell Award, and a Walter Camp Award, all honors given to college football’s most outstanding players.

So what did scouts have to say about watching Williams this season? They told Farmer that “there’s a real chance Williams could be the No. 1 overall pick” in 2024. One scout claimed he would’ve been the top quarterback prospect last year, in a draft crop that included Kenny Pickett, Desmond Ridder, Malik Willis, Matt Corral, Bailey Zappe, Sam Howell, Chris Oladokun, Skylar Thompson, and Brock Purdy. While it’s not nearly as clearcut, the same scout even ventured that Williams would have a shot at being a top quarterback in this year’s draft crop which includes Alabama’s Bryce Young, Kentucky’s Will Levis, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Florida’s Anthony Richardson, and Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker, among others. If Williams could’ve been the top quarterback prospect in the league’s two most recent draft crops, who’s to say he couldn’t be a top pick next year, as well?

The second scout was in attendance for Williams’s first start at Oklahoma last year as a freshman and raved about the “it” factor Williams has had since the beginning. Both praised his athleticism and arm talent, his timing and accuracy, but throwing in “the moxie, the confidence” as well as “instinctive values that you can’t teach” gives Williams intangibles that help put him above the rest of the crowd.

It’s far too soon to determine where Williams’s competition will come from next year. Fellow young stars like North Carolina’s Drake Maye or Texas’s Quinn Ewers may push Williams for the top pick. A new unproven starter like Alabama’s Jalen Milroe or Ohio State’s Kyle McCord may have a breakout season. Experienced veterans at the college level like Washington’s Michael Penix or Florida State’s Jordan Travis may make a case. Transferring stars like former Chanticleer Grayson McCall, former Tiger D.J. Uiagalelei, or former Wolfpack quarterback Devin Leary could find a new home to excel in and catch the eyes of scouts.

Williams has lots of pressure on his shoulders heading into his junior season. The reigning Heisman champion will have all eyes on him as he tries to lead the Trojans to the College Football Playoffs that they just missed this year. He’ll be attempting to match his production from this season or, at the very least, not damage his draft stock while holding off all other contenders for the right to be the top passer in the draft. It will be a challenge for Williams to maintain the title of top quarterback prospect, let alone the No. 1 overall pick.