The top two picks in the 2024 NFL Draft were Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels to the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders, respectively. Now, with preseason games underway, both have made their NFL debuts. How’d they do, exactly?
Jayden Daniels’ Strong Start vs. New York Jets
Daniels started his Saturday off against the New York Jets. He only played one drive but made the most of it. The Commanders’ offense, led by him, went right down the field and scored a touchdown to get the game going. He did not return afterward, with the Commanders seeing everything they needed to see. All in all, Daniels finished the game 2-of-3 for 45 yards and no touchdowns, plus one rush for three yards and a touchdown.
Here are his plays during the drive:
- Incomplete pass to Austin Ekeler on 2nd-and-6
- 42-yard completion to Dyami Brown on 3rd-and-6
- Three-yard completion to Terry McLaurin on 1st-and-10
- Three-yard rushing touchdown on 3rd-and-goal
While he scored the touchdown on the ground, the most impressive play was his second throw when he launched a ball down the right sideline to Dyami Brown, who was in tight coverage, for a perfect throw and a big gain.
Welcome to the NFL Jayden Daniels🫡 pic.twitter.com/ekO9Q2Pphg
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 10, 2024
He was replaced by Jeff Driskel, who was followed by Marcus Mariota and Sam Hartman.
MORE: Simulate the NFL Season With PFN’s Playoff Predictor
Caleb Williams Flashes in NFL Debut
While Daniels got just one drive, Williams got two. Coming into the game, Bears coaches had told the announcers that they were looking for him to get about 15 plays before being replaced by backup Tyson Bagent. In his two drives, he didn’t disappoint.
The Bears drove downfield and scored field goals on both of Williams’ possessions. He finished the game 4-of-7 for 95 yards and no touchdowns, plus one rush for 13 yards.
Here are each of his plays on the two drives:
- 12-yard completion to DJ Moore on 3rd-and-12
- 42-yard completion to D’Andre Swift on 1st-and-10
- 15-yard completion to Moore on 1st-and-10
- 26-yard pass to Cole Kmet on 1st-and-10
- Incomplete pass to Kmet on 1st-and-10
- 13-yard rush on 3rd-and-9
- Incomplete pass to Moore on 2nd-and-9
- Incomplete pass to Rome Odunze on 3rd-and-9
After a penalty and a couple of runs, Williams had his first 3rd-and-long situation early on his first drive. However, he stood strong in the pocket and hit moore for exactly what they needed to get the first down. He followed that up with a screen pass to Swift, who then took it 42 yards. A few runs later, the drive was over, ending in a 30-yard field goal.
Caleb Williams with a dart 🎯 for his first NFL completion
🎥: @NFL pic.twitter.com/mDMNYTO428
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 10, 2024
On his second drive, after a few more runs, Williams hit Moore again for a 15-yard gain. Two plays later came his most impressive throw, though, as he scrambled to the right, pump-faked the short route, and hit Cole Kmet down the field on a near-perfect throw for 26 yards. Kmet then dropped a pass on the following play before Williams tucked it and ran for 13 yards on 3rd-and-long.
Another missile from Caleb Williams on the run this time🚀
🎥: @NFL pic.twitter.com/x4ksu0HDJu
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 10, 2024
Williams’ day came to an end after back-to-back incompletions, with one being a tough throw and the other a throwaway. The drive ended in a 31-yard field goal, giving the Bears a 6-0 lead as Williams departed to the sideline.
Daniels and Williams’ Fantasy Profiles
With both Daniels and Williams expected to start for their teams this year, PFN gave evaluations on the two in terms of fantasy drafts.
For Daniels, his ADP is 106th overall, making him QB12. “Depending on the day you look at average draft boards, Daniels is coming off somewhere in the QB12-15 range. Jared Goff, Tua Tagovailoa, and Justin Herbert are all going in the same tier as Daniels, a round behind Brock Purdy and a round or so ahead of Trevor Lawrence and fellow rookie Caleb Williams,” said PFN’s Kyle Soppe.
“If you play in a league with deeper rosters or don’t mind allocating two roster spots to the position, then, by all means, be aggressive in your targeting of Daniels. Heck, if you’re worried about regression, take him ahead of Purdy (I can’t go higher than that, Kyler Murray is QB10 in ADP).”
In terms of Williams, his ADP is 113th overall, or QB14. “Williams enters the NFL as the No. 1 overall pick, but rookie quarterbacks rarely produce elite fantasy numbers. While Williams has immense talent, it’s unlikely he will match the historical rookie season of C.J. Stroud, who averaged 18.7 fantasy points per game,” said PFN’s Jason Katz.
“Fantasy managers should not expect more than an extra fantasy point per game due to rushing, which means Williams has to do it all through the air. As we’ve seen, it takes a lot of yards and a lot of touchdowns to get to 20 fantasy points per game exclusively through passing.”