USC quarterback Caleb Williams has garnered plenty of acclaim throughout the 2024 NFL Draft cycle, and another longtime NFL evaluator is on the record saying Williams is one of the best passers he’s ever evaluated. Here’s more on the impression Williams has made.
Caleb Williams “One of the Best Prospects of All Time,” Per Longtime Evaluator
The discourse surrounding Williams has been unavoidable and, at times, extremely polarizing during the early months of the 2024 NFL Draft process.
But speak to anyone who objectively and independently watches the film, and they’ll say Williams is one of the best QB prospects to come out over the past half-decade. Some even take it a step further. That was made apparent in Albert Breer’s NFL Combine preview.
In his Combine preview at Sports Illustrated, Breer spoke to Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy and ESPN’s Steve Muench. And Muench, in particular, was very complimentary of Williams’ skills.
According to Breer, Muench grades Williams at a score of 96. Muench graded 2012 first overall pick Andrew Luck with a score of 99 and gave 2022 first overall pick Trevor Lawrence a score of 87. Williams safely clears Lawrence on Muench’s scale.
“I didn’t evaluate [John] Elway or [Peyton] Manning,” Muench said, per Breer. “But I do think Williams is in the conversation of one of the best prospects of all time.”
Breer relayed that Muench sees a changing of the guard at QB in the NFL. Teams are starting to covet the QBs with high-end creation capacity and playmaking ability, and Williams is the standard of the 2024 class in that regard.
Williams a Top-Flight QB Prospect on PFN’s Board
On my personal 2024 NFL Draft board, Williams is QB2 — essentially QB1b — behind North Carolina’s Drake Maye, who edges the USC passer out ever so slightly with his ability to play in structure and throw WRs open with anticipation.
Having said all this, Williams still grades in the same tier as Maye and C.J. Stroud, my QB1 from the 2023 NFL Draft class and the 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year. And both Maye and Williams are two of the highest-graded QB prospects I’ve ever scouted. Williams earned this summation in his 2024 NFL Draft scouting report:
“At 6’1″, 215 pounds, Williams is one of the most prolific, natural creators to hit the NFL Draft circuit over the past decade. At times, he resembles a magician with his ability to control the field and make something out of nothing.
Not only is Williams a fluid athlete with impressive change of direction, play strength, and functional speed, but he has uncommon instincts as a creator in space, and his effortless off-platform throwing ability makes him a two-phase threat from snap to whistle.”
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Whether they have Williams as their top overall prospect or a top-five talent with in-structure flaws to iron out, most evaluators are in agreement: He’s one of the best QB prospects to hit the circuit in quite some time, and he can make an NFL team very happy.
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