Throughout the entire 2023 college football season most fans and media and had USC’s star quarterback Caleb Williams at the top of every draft board, but with recent struggles in his play, controversy in the news cycle, and other elite quarterbacks in this draft class, has Williams fallen out of favor for that number one spot?
You would be hard-pressed to watch film of Williams even in his most recent loss to Notre Dame and not come away thinking he was one of the best quarterbacks in the country. While yes he had his struggles against Notre Dame it’s hard to really place the blame on Williams when his offensive line collapsed constantly and they appeared to be truly outcoached. Williams still managed to make a ton of plays with broken pockets and constant pressure. Even still it’s not a blameless situation for any quarterback who throws three interceptions in a game, especially when you are known for being an elite signal caller who lifts his teammates above the competition.
With the news cycle buzzing about Williams from him potentially not declaring for the draft if a team he doesn’t want to play for gets the pick, to reports and rumors about him and his agent wanting partial ownership of the team. These reports are noise that any NFL team is going to be wary of if there are other options on the table.
Yes, Caleb Williams is one of the 5 greatest QB prospects of all-time. pic.twitter.com/P9fQ2M7xpw
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) October 15, 2023
With the likes of Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr., and Shedeur Sanders potentially coming out in the same draft class as first-round talents, and carrying none of the same media noise, you have to wonder if this noise is going to find its way to the front office of any teams and impact their decision. Ultimately it seems likely Williams is still destined to be the top pick just based on how elite he is, but nothing in the NFL is guaranteed, and the other quarterbacks in the class aren’t that far behind him in talent.
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