1) In one way, Saturday night was a culmination for USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the manifestation of a goal he set for himself (he actually wrote down that he wanted to win two Heismans) as a middle-schooler, with the word “Heisman” scrawled on a piece of scrap paper. In another, Williams’s taking home the most famed individual award in U.S. sports is only the beginning. As we’ve said here over the last couple of months, NFL teams already have their eyes on a kid who turned 20 less than a month ago, and already has been a starter for two college football bluebloods. Plenty of folks in pro football have watched Williams. Few have actually studied him at this point, since he’s not draft-eligible until 2024. But I was able to find someone who’s worked ahead on that quarterback class, to get better perspective on this year’s class. And the early evaluation was, as you’d expect it would be, glowing.
“Elite arm talent and amazing skill set—can make every throw from different platforms, but he’s also a really instinctive and anticipatory thrower,” says our personnel executive. “He’s able to throw guys open rather than just throwing to spots. He also has a great feel for the game; he doesn’t get the offense in trouble. He takes what is there, makes the drive-starting throws. Lots of [Patrick] Mahomes in his game. I’m watching the Kansas City free agents, and he does a lot of the same stuff.”
Fantasy-wise he's far and away my #1. He's the first QB I have ever put into a top 10 spot for my 1QB league.I have him ranked as the #2 DEVY QB (Young, Williams, Stroud). Soon to be #1 QB when Young is drafted.
I agree that Williams is the #1 QB prospect, but first QB in your top 10? I personally have had several, including (off the top of my head) Trevor Lawrence, Kyler Murray, Andrew Luck and RG3Fantasy-wise he's far and away my #1. He's the first QB I have ever put into a top 10 spot for my 1QB league.I have him ranked as the #2 DEVY QB (Young, Williams, Stroud). Soon to be #1 QB when Young is drafted.
And in real life. He's on the Trevor/Luck prospect type level.Fantasy-wise he's far and away my #1
Not all one QB leagues are similar because of roster size but RG3 was my highest rated in-coming rookie QB for fantasy I have ever had and I've not seen one I'd use a first round pick pick on since the year he and Luck came out. That year was almost my first year to ever be in a rookie dynasty draft and I did not pick any of them but I did have them inside my top 12.I agree that Williams is the #1 QB prospect, but first QB in your top 10? I personally have had several, including (off the top of my head) Trevor Lawrence, Kyler Murray, Andrew Luck and RG3Fantasy-wise he's far and away my #1. He's the first QB I have ever put into a top 10 spot for my 1QB league.I have him ranked as the #2 DEVY QB (Young, Williams, Stroud). Soon to be #1 QB when Young is drafted.
NFL Rookie Watch
Albert Breer @AlbertBreer
Working ahead on some things for the summer, and lemme tell you ... the NFL is VERY high on USC QB Caleb Williams, and in an Andrew Luck/Trevor Lawrence kind of way. "He is unbelievable," said one QBs coach.
What the teams at the bottom do in December will be interesting.
Colluding for Caleb.The Shark move is to start tanking in June then you won't need to worry about perceptions in December.
Y'know, like cutting your best players before minicamp. Looking at you Arizona. Letting a solid QB go in favor of a solid QB with a busted foot is a power move Las Vegas.
By the time December rolls around everyone will expect those teams to suck.
"Suck for Caleb" doesn't ring as a great ad slogan like "Suck for Luck" (Balin' for Caleb? Wishin' for Williams? ) but I would be willing to endure a season of hardship if it means he ends up in Silver and Black next season.
Absolutely!Funny thing about college QBs is that their value is almost always higher until they are actually drafted. It seems to me that Young and Stroud were a lot higher in 2022 than 2023. Will the same thing happen to Williams? Maybe not, but.....
I was speaking from a fantasy perspective.Absolutely!Funny thing about college QBs is that their value is almost always higher until they are actually drafted. It seems to me that Young and Stroud were a lot higher in 2022 than 2023. Will the same thing happen to Williams? Maybe not, but.....
The problem is the NFL is such a QB driven league that you have to take shots at landing a potential 10+ year All Pro/Face-of-the-Franchise. It's not impossible to compete without one of those guys but it sure makes the job a lot easier. So if you have the opportunity (or create the opportunity) you are obliged to go all-in on it. Your Colts took that shot this year. I know you disagree with that move but IMO it was 100% the correct decision. They weren't going anywhere with Minshew and they tried the rent-a-vet dance for five years. So they took the risk and good for them. If he had fallen to the Raiders I would have loved to grab him. I would have loved to trade up from 7 to 4 just to get him.
If you take the chance and the guy flops you are no worse off than you were when you were in the position to get that guy in the first place. I guess you could argue the rent-a-vet plan. Personally, I hate that strategy. Good on the Rams & Bucs for succeeding for one year on that plan. I would rather be truly competitive for a decade than to take a shot on a one year plan and hope for a ring followed by a long rebuild. But YMMV.
Using the Raiders as a current example how far will they get over the next few seasons with some combination of Garoppolo & Aiden O'Connell? What's the plan after that? But, if they manage to have built a decent core on defense and offense (and I think they may have) then plugging in a true franchise QB probably makes them highly competitive for a good long time. Certainly more so than they will with their current QB room.
From that perspective the Colts got the best option by an order of magnitude. Even if he ends up being a disaster from an NFL perspective, Richardson can move like very few others. He's 6'4" Vick/Lamar. He's going to be a fantasy darling.I was speaking from a fantasy perspective.Absolutely!Funny thing about college QBs is that their value is almost always higher until they are actually drafted. It seems to me that Young and Stroud were a lot higher in 2022 than 2023. Will the same thing happen to Williams? Maybe not, but.....
The problem is the NFL is such a QB driven league that you have to take shots at landing a potential 10+ year All Pro/Face-of-the-Franchise. It's not impossible to compete without one of those guys but it sure makes the job a lot easier. So if you have the opportunity (or create the opportunity) you are obliged to go all-in on it. Your Colts took that shot this year. I know you disagree with that move but IMO it was 100% the correct decision. They weren't going anywhere with Minshew and they tried the rent-a-vet dance for five years. So they took the risk and good for them. If he had fallen to the Raiders I would have loved to grab him. I would have loved to trade up from 7 to 4 just to get him.
If you take the chance and the guy flops you are no worse off than you were when you were in the position to get that guy in the first place. I guess you could argue the rent-a-vet plan. Personally, I hate that strategy. Good on the Rams & Bucs for succeeding for one year on that plan. I would rather be truly competitive for a decade than to take a shot on a one year plan and hope for a ring followed by a long rebuild. But YMMV.
Using the Raiders as a current example how far will they get over the next few seasons with some combination of Garoppolo & Aiden O'Connell? What's the plan after that? But, if they manage to have built a decent core on defense and offense (and I think they may have) then plugging in a true franchise QB probably makes them highly competitive for a good long time. Certainly more so than they will with their current QB room.
Jameis Winston's numbers in his Heisman and National Championship season are almost identical to what Caleb Williams just did at USC. JW's walk year was not as impressive. We'll see if Caleb can follow up that great Heisman season with another. Seems like we always identify the shiny new toy a little early and then these guys go from having an enormous talent advantage around them in college to an enormous deficit in the NFL, and they aren't so shiny.Funny thing about college QBs is that their value is almost always higher until they are actually drafted. It seems to me that Young and Stroud were a lot higher in 2022 than 2023. Will the same thing happen to Williams? Maybe not, but.....
I don't see that comp at all. Jameis was always reckless with the ball. He benefitted a lot from that as a freshman at FSU putting up low % balls to the gigantic Kelvin Benjamin. But in his Heisman year he had 10 INTs (18 the following year sans Benjamin). He had a 3.2% INT rate at FSU on 851 passes, Williams has a 1.2% rate on 711 attempts, with 9 INTs total in two seasons.Jameis Winston's numbers in his Heisman and National Championship season are almost identical to what Caleb Williams just did at USC.
Jameis Winston's numbers in his Heisman and National Championship season are almost identical to what Caleb Williams just did at USC. JW's walk year was not as impressive. We'll see if Caleb can follow up that great Heisman season with another. Seems like we always identify the shiny new toy a little early and then these guys go from having an enormous talent advantage around them in college to an enormous deficit in the NFL, and they aren't so shiny.
I've watched his highlights and tuned in to a few games last year. Looking forward to seeing if he can repeat it this year with all the pressure/hype. If he looks that way again and the Bucs start slow I'll be rooting for the #1 overall like most any other fan of a bad team. All I'm saying is Jameis also had that kind of a season in his Heisman year, the Bucs tanked for him, and then endured 5 years of misery.Jameis Winston's numbers in his Heisman and National Championship season are almost identical to what Caleb Williams just did at USC. JW's walk year was not as impressive. We'll see if Caleb can follow up that great Heisman season with another. Seems like we always identify the shiny new toy a little early and then these guys go from having an enormous talent advantage around them in college to an enormous deficit in the NFL, and they aren't so shiny.- YouTube
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Highlights.
Obviously tough to live up to this hype, which is Andrew Luck levels.
Does a ton of stuff in those highlights that seem like bad ideas that he got away with. Like, most of these highlights are questionable throws, off balance, etc.People saying Caleb is a more refined Mahomes? Tap the breaks.
Jameis is still a poor comp but you are right to be eager to if Caleb can follow up his Heisman year.I've watched his highlights and tuned in to a few games last year. Looking forward to seeing if he can repeat it this year with all the pressure/hype. If he looks that way again and the Bucs start slow I'll be rooting for the #1 overall like most any other fan of a bad team. All I'm saying is Jameis also had that kind of a season in his Heisman year, the Bucs tanked for him, and then endured 5 years of misery.Jameis Winston's numbers in his Heisman and National Championship season are almost identical to what Caleb Williams just did at USC. JW's walk year was not as impressive. We'll see if Caleb can follow up that great Heisman season with another. Seems like we always identify the shiny new toy a little early and then these guys go from having an enormous talent advantage around them in college to an enormous deficit in the NFL, and they aren't so shiny.- YouTube
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Highlights.
Obviously tough to live up to this hype, which is Andrew Luck levels.
People saying Caleb is a more refined Mahomes? Tap the breaks.
Not like this. You know that.Everybody loved Bryce Young and CJ Stroud this time last year.
Yep, for today he is. Bowers may be a tad overrated.Not like this. You know that.Everybody loved Bryce Young and CJ Stroud this time last year.
In terms of next-year hype, Caleb is up there with Bijan, Pitts, Bowers, Harrison Jr.
I’m all aboard the Williams train. Think he’s the prototype for the modern NFL QB with his ability to make and extend plays off script with his athletic ability. Just hope he doesn’t land in Zona.I've seen Caleb live in HS for all years. And watched extensively in college. He is better than the hype. Barring injury, he's gonna be incredible. My opinion, but I am right If I was an NFL GM I would literally lose every game this year 0-50 to be able to draft him.
Would not mind.I've seen Caleb live in HS for all years. And watched extensively in college. He is better than the hype. Barring injury, he's gonna be incredible. My opinion, but I am right If I was an NFL GM I would literally lose every game this year 0-50 to be able to draft him.
I think for any team that has an established QB (if you want to include Watson in that) it would be tempting to take the “haul” they could receive for that pick. After seeing what Carolina paid for Bryce I would assume Caleb would bring in an unprecedented amount of resources in a trade.Would the Browns take him at #1 knowing the predator is under contract for a few more years? Or do they take the Ohio St kid at WR?
In the Browns case. they also don't have a 1st round pick.I think for any team that has an established QB (if you want to include Watson in that) it would be tempting to take the “haul” they could receive for that pick. After seeing what Carolina paid for Bryce I would assume Caleb would bring in an unprecedented amount of resources in a trade.Would the Browns take him at #1 knowing the predator is under contract for a few more years? Or do they take the Ohio St kid at WR?
I agree, I believe Caleb/Maye would have been 1/2 in last years draft. If they both build on last years performance it will make this upcoming draft very interesting.In the Browns case. they also don't have a 1st round pick.I think for any team that has an established QB (if you want to include Watson in that) it would be tempting to take the “haul” they could receive for that pick. After seeing what Carolina paid for Bryce I would assume Caleb would bring in an unprecedented amount of resources in a trade.Would the Browns take him at #1 knowing the predator is under contract for a few more years? Or do they take the Ohio St kid at WR?
In general, it makes sense to take the haul, and you are likely correct that Williams will get an even bigger one than Young did, as he (at the moment) has fewer question marks than Young did.
It will be a little interesting if Caleb Williams is the #1 QB prospect though. Drake Maye is extremely talented as well and has much more prototype size. A lot of anonymous GMs said in the lead up to this year's draft, that if Williams and Maye were in it, they'd have both gone before Young/Stroud.
I get this from a fan's perspective, but I don't think a coach/GM can operate this way in good faith unless you never plan on looking your player's in the eye. When has tanking ever worked? You just can't build great culture with that kind of mentality.I've seen Caleb live in HS for all years. And watched extensively in college. He is better than the hype. Barring injury, he's gonna be incredible. My opinion, but I am right If I was an NFL GM I would literally lose every game this year 0-50 to be able to draft him.
It worked for the Colts and Luck for awhile. Karma is a biotch however.I get this from a fan's perspective, but I don't think a coach/GM can operate this way in good faith unless you never plan on looking your player's in the eye. When has tanking ever worked? You just can't build great culture with that kind of mentality.I've seen Caleb live in HS for all years. And watched extensively in college. He is better than the hype. Barring injury, he's gonna be incredible. My opinion, but I am right If I was an NFL GM I would literally lose every game this year 0-50 to be able to draft him.
Did they really tank though? Peyton got hurt. I don't think it was their intention before the season started. Maybe later on in the year?It worked for the Colts and Luck for awhile. Karma is a biotch however.I get this from a fan's perspective, but I don't think a coach/GM can operate this way in good faith unless you never plan on looking your player's in the eye. When has tanking ever worked? You just can't build great culture with that kind of mentality.I've seen Caleb live in HS for all years. And watched extensively in college. He is better than the hype. Barring injury, he's gonna be incredible. My opinion, but I am right If I was an NFL GM I would literally lose every game this year 0-50 to be able to draft him.
Somewhat off topic, but something I'd like to get your opinion on. I always thought the Colts should have kept Manning and traded the Luck pick, given the haul Griffin went for, I would think Luck would have gotten quite a bit more than that. Like 3 1sts, multiple day 2 picks, and maybe a couple vet starters.It worked for the Colts and Luck for awhile. Karma is a biotch however.I get this from a fan's perspective, but I don't think a coach/GM can operate this way in good faith unless you never plan on looking your player's in the eye. When has tanking ever worked? You just can't build great culture with that kind of mentality.I've seen Caleb live in HS for all years. And watched extensively in college. He is better than the hype. Barring injury, he's gonna be incredible. My opinion, but I am right If I was an NFL GM I would literally lose every game this year 0-50 to be able to draft him.
Worked for the Spurs, twice.I get this from a fan's perspective, but I don't think a coach/GM can operate this way in good faith unless you never plan on looking your player's in the eye. When has tanking ever worked? You just can't build great culture with that kind of mentality.I've seen Caleb live in HS for all years. And watched extensively in college. He is better than the hype. Barring injury, he's gonna be incredible. My opinion, but I am right If I was an NFL GM I would literally lose every game this year 0-50 to be able to draft him.
NBA isn’t really apples to apples when you’re only rostering 11 guys. Having the best player in the league is a much bigger advantage than it is in the NFL.Worked for the Spurs, twice.I get this from a fan's perspective, but I don't think a coach/GM can operate this way in good faith unless you never plan on looking your player's in the eye. When has tanking ever worked? You just can't build great culture with that kind of mentality.I've seen Caleb live in HS for all years. And watched extensively in college. He is better than the hype. Barring injury, he's gonna be incredible. My opinion, but I am right If I was an NFL GM I would literally lose every game this year 0-50 to be able to draft him.
The Colts, at least once. I don't know if 1997 was a true tank job but 2011 absolutely was.
There are probably a few more examples but those came to mind
I think they had the tank mentality long before the season started. I am 100% certain the Colts understood the severity of Manning's neck injury long before his surgery in May. Signing 39 year old Kerry Collins doesn't strike me as a "Let's all rally and make a surprise playoff run!" move to me.Did they really tank though? Peyton got hurt. I don't think it was their intention before the season started. Maybe later on in the year?
Fair but they still worked very hard to get the best player in the league, twice.NBA isn’t really apples to apples when you’re only rostering 11 guys. Having the best player in the league is a much bigger advantage than it is in the NFL.Worked for the Spurs, twice.I get this from a fan's perspective, but I don't think a coach/GM can operate this way in good faith unless you never plan on looking your player's in the eye. When has tanking ever worked? You just can't build great culture with that kind of mentality.I've seen Caleb live in HS for all years. And watched extensively in college. He is better than the hype. Barring injury, he's gonna be incredible. My opinion, but I am right If I was an NFL GM I would literally lose every game this year 0-50 to be able to draft him.
The Colts, at least once. I don't know if 1997 was a true tank job but 2011 absolutely was.
There are probably a few more examples but those came to mind
We’ve seen plenty of great NFL players win nothing without the help of a quality supporting cast.
Honestly couldn’t remember the timeline and was too lazy to look it up. And even so, did it actually work for the Colts? He had one great year and one good year. Then retired. One AFC Championship game I think. That’s it.I think they had the tank mentality long before the season started. I am 100% certain the Colts understood the severity of Manning's neck injury long before his surgery in May. Signing 39 year old Kerry Collins doesn't strike me as a "Let's all rally and make a surprise playoff run!" move to me.Did they really tank though? Peyton got hurt. I don't think it was their intention before the season started. Maybe later on in the year?