Jan 2, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams (13) walks off the field after the game against the Tulane Green Wave in the 2023 Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
The 2024 NFL Draft is projected to be loaded with talented QB prospects.
Headlining that group is USC QB Caleb Williams, and on Monday, the quarterback officially declared for this spring’s draft. Williams announced the decision via his personal Instagram account, and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network later tweeted a screenshot of his announcement.
Williams came into 2023 heralded as the next great quarterback prospect. While USC didn’t quite live up to their hype as a whole this season, that should not take anything away from what Williams himself is capable of.
During the 2023 season, Williams completed 68.6% of his passes while throwing for 3633 yards, 30 touchdowns, and just five interceptions over the course of 12 games.
The USC product has been one of the best improvisers at the quarterback position in all of college football. Williams’ arm talent is absolutely incredible, allowing him to make throws from anywhere in the backfield. He can stand in the pocket and hit receivers in stride, or he can scramble outside of the pocket and throw on the run as well as any draft prospect we’ve seen over the past couple years.
Assuming Williams remains the top QB prospect in this spring’s draft, it seems extremely unlikely that the Vikings would be able to find a way to land him. There are multiple QB-needy teams above the Vikings in the draft order, namely the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots, who hold the second and third overall picks, respectively.
On top of that, there remains uncertainty as to what the Chicago Bears will opt to do with the No. 1 overall pick in April. They caught fire down the stretch of the regular season to finish the year with a 7-10 record, and Justin Fields played some strong football toward the end of the season.
Fields finished the season by completing 61.4% of his passes for 2562 yards, 16 TDs, and nine interceptions. Ever known for his rushing ability, the Bears QB also totaled 124 carries for 657 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.
Still, though, this could be a benefit to the Bears if they want to take Williams. Because of Fields’ strong play in 2023, they could potentially land a notable haul of draft picks if they wanted to trade the 24-year-old quarterback.
There is also a chance that a poor performance against the Green Bay Packers in Week 18 could have left a sour taste in the mouths of Chicago’s leadership.
In the end, there is still much to be determined between now and the draft in April. It will be very interesting to see how teams at the top of the draft ultimately decide to pick, but Williams’ hat is officially in the ring for the NFL.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference and Sports Reference CFB.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.