(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
There’s a ton of young quarterback talent in the NFL right now, whether you’re talking about the Kansas City Chiefs two-time Super Bowl Champion and MVP Patrick Mahomes or other franchise pillars such as the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow or Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
This list doesn’t even encompass other outstanding quarterbacks in the NFL, including Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles, Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers, and other players who have shown glimpses of potential, like Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears, and this year’s top draft pick, Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers.
All these players are either in their prime (Mahomes, Allen, Jackson) or just getting started (Herbert, Hurts, Lawrence).
Mahomes is the obvious, undisputed best player in the league the last couple of years. Still, a young, electrifying quarterback is playing for the USC Trojans who has been garnering comparisons to the Chiefs’ star quarterback, and that is the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams.
Williams is entering his junior season this coming fall for the Trojans and is projected as the clear-cut No.1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft in what’s expected to be a loaded class.
Williams, 21, stands 6-foot-1, 220 lbs with an NFL-ready frame that should only continue to get stronger as he matures. He fits the modern day prototype of what GMs look for in a star quarterback as he’s a dual-threat with the football in his hands who can make any throw you can think of out on the field, whether that’s standing in the pocket with sharp short route passes, the deep ball, or also twisting his body one way while throwing it off balance a la Mahomesesque.
Williams had a superhuman season as a sophomore last season as a Trojan, accumulating a whopping 4,537 yards for 42 touchdowns with a QBR rating of 87.5 (5th) and a passer rating of 168.5 last season while completing 66% of his passes.
Williams also displayed his ability to get out in the open field and run the ball, as you see here in a Heisman moment against Notre Dame. Many of the prominent quarterbacks in the league, such as Jackson, Allen, Mahomes, and Hurts to name a few, are adept at running with the ball, which adds to their prominence as elite quarterbacks. Williams showed that versatile ability with 10 rushing touchdowns last season.
Similar to Mahomes, Williams is known for throwing accurate passes with great velocity in tight situations, making what seems like a negative outcome for a play, using his unique talent and abilities to make something positive out of it instead, as he did numerous times in a stout performance against Stanford last seaso,n where he finished with four passing touchdowns for 341 yards.
Despite William’s prowess as a quarterback, there are some things he needs to work on such as he can sometimes, similar to Mahomes or Allen, he can take chances on throws in coverage that can easily get picked off.
He will also need to improve his lower-body mechanics when throwing, as his accuracy tends to stumble a bit when making short throws.
Like every prospect, no matter how good they may be, all have their weaknesses, but despite those minor gripes to William’s game, he accomplished quite a collection last season. His accomplishments read as follows:
Williams is a breathtaking talent who’ll mesmerize you with his abilities on the football field. Whoever has the number one pick next year will be getting a generational talent who’s also a high character kid.
Yep, we have one too
