2024 Exclusive Sneak Peek: Caleb Williams, QB USC
Welcome to the Exclusive Sneak Peek: Caleb Williams, Quarterback from USC. He is from Washington DC and was a 4-star recruit out of Gonzaga High School.
Williams started his collegiate career as a member of the Oklahoma Sooners backing up Spencer Rattler but replaced the struggling Rattler after only 6 games.
He finished his freshman season strong for the Sooners and left for USC with his Oklahoma head coach as a sophomore.
His production exploded at USC, and he spent his final two college seasons steadily climbing to the top of NFL Draft boards.
Measurables
NCAA Statistics
| Passing | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | TD | Int | Rate |
| *2021 | Oklahoma | Big 12 | FR | QB | 11 | 136 | 211 | 64.5 | 1912 | 9.1 | 10.2 | 21 | 4 | 169.6 |
| *2022 | USC | Pac-12 | SO | 14 | 333 | 500 | 66.6 | 4537 | 9.1 | 10.3 | 42 | 5 | 168.5 | |
| *2023 | USC | Pac-12 | JR | QB | 12 | 266 | 388 | 68.6 | 3633 | 9.4 | 10.3 | 30 | 5 | 170.1 |
| Career | Overall | 735 | 1099 | 66.9 | 10082 | 9.2 | 10.3 | 93 | 14 | 169.3 | ||||
| Oklahoma | 136 | 211 | 64.5 | 1912 | 9.1 | 10.2 | 21 | 4 | 169.6 | |||||
| USC | 599 | 888 | 67.5 | 8170 | 9.2 | 10.3 | 72 | 10 | 169.2 | |||||
Scouting Reports
Strengths
- Elite arm talent and playmaking ability.
- Mahomes-like ability to improvise under pressure.
- Consistent performer even when lacking an offensive line or weapons.
- Solid ability to produce with his legs.
- Excellent accuracy and ball placement lead receivers effectively.
- A natural leader with a great locker-room presence.
Weaknesses
- Height may cause difficulties seeing over the offensive line.
- Typically, a one-read quarterback may struggle to progress through reads.
- Lack of experience in dropbacks operates most often out of the shotgun.
- Ball control could be an issue due to his style of ball-carrying while on the run.
Pre-Draft Analysis
Expected Draft Capital: Top 3 Overall
Ideal Landing Spot: Arizona Cardinals (Denver Broncos)
I listed two ideal landing spots because as unbelievable as it would be to see Williams take over in Denver, it’s simply unrealistic. The Broncos are likely to be at least 10 picks too late to draft Williams, so barring a miraculous trade-up with their limited draft capital, it isn’t possible.
That brings me to the Arizona Cardinals, another team with an established veteran quarterback and another team that should move on and start fresh with Caleb Williams under center. Arizona won’t pick first overall, but with some luck, they could see him fall to them a few picks later.
Williams reminds me of Murray in a lot of ways with one glaring exception. He has all the intangibles that made Murray a star, but Williams has a far better locker-room presence and could provide the Cardinals with the missing piece that Murray lacks.
Post-Draft Analysis
Pick 1.01 to the Chicago Bears
Williams
Check out The Fantasy Football Universe video breakdown of Caleb Williams below.
