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Caleb Williams has been drawing comparisons to Patrick Mahomes for the past two years, and now that the former Heisman Trophy winner is on his way to the NFL, questions about the parallels between the two quarterbacks are going to become more frequent.
In a pre-Scouting Combine conference call with reporters, NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah did note “there are similarities there” between Williams and Mahomes in terms of their playing style and the throws they can make:
“You don’t want to compare somebody to the best player on the planet, but just in terms of how (Williams) kind of plays, with the creativity and a little flair and all the different throws he can make in terms of driving the ball, layering the ball, extending plays, all those things, there are similarities there.
“(Mahomes) needed some time to clean things up and got a chance to sit for a year (in Kansas City). Obviously, I don’t think Caleb is going to be afforded the same luxury in that department. But I think you can put a plan in place where you put more on his plate the longer that he goes.
“Mahomes’ situation at Texas Tech was, I thought, very similar to Caleb’s situation at USC. … Pat’s last year at Texas Tech, they were 128th in scoring defense. (In 2023) USC was 121st. (Williams) was constantly chasing points. I thought that led to some of the habits that creeped in a little bit. … He lost eight games at USC. They gave up an average of 43 points in those games. He was 12-0 when they managed to allow less than 34 points. It’s tough to play quarterback when you’re chasing points like that constantly.”
It’s unfair right now to compare any prospect to Mahomes. He’s been the driving force behind the Kansas City Chiefs playing in the AFC Championship Game every year he’s been a starter, in addition to winning three Super Bowls in the past five seasons.
Another potential problem point is Williams won’t be walking into a situation as ready-made to win as Mahomes did.
The 2017 Chiefs, who had Alex Smith at quarterback, had the sixth-best offense in the NFL by points per game with one of the best offensive minds in league history as head coach (Andy Reid). They had a running back (Kareem Hunt), wide receiver (Tyreek Hill) and tight end (Kareem Hunt) who had more than 1,000 yards.
If Williams goes No. 1 overall to the Chicago Bears, head coach Matt Eberflus has a defensive background. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron is entering his first season with the club after spending the past three years in the same role for the Seattle Seahawks.
The Bears had a bottom-10 offensive line and their best running back was a quarterback (Justin Fields) last season. They do have a top-tier wide receiver in D.J. Moore, but he’s their only proven playmaker at this point.
There are resources available to the Bears to improve around whichever quarterback they go into the 2024 season with as the starter. They have a second first-round pick at No. 9 overall, along with almost $67 million in cap space to add players via free agency.
Williams’ talent is special and more than enough to make him worthy of being the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft. It’s up to the Bears—or whichever team winds up selecting him—to put the infrastructure around him to maximize that talent like the Chiefs were able to do early in Mahomes’ career.
