Mahomes 2.0? Meet the NFL’s next super star quarterback

Every team in the NFL wants a Patrick Mahomes. The Chicago Bears hope they are about to get one of their own.

Whether burden or blessing, Caleb Williams enters the 2024 Draft as the latest superstar college quarterback prospect and perhaps the first to draw legitimate comparisons to the three-time Super Bowl champion.

The Bears let their intentions be known earlier this offseason when they traded quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers just three seasons after drafting him, paving the way for general manager Ryan Poles to use the No 1 pick on Williams.

Chicago has been awaiting its answer at quarterback with which to propel the Bears back into perennial contention. They might be about to get their man.

Background

Williams finds himself sitting somewhere among the likes of Trevor Lawrence, Andrew Luck and Cam Newton when it comes to the most recognised, talked-about and anticipated quarterback prospects in recent years. As was the case with Lawrence, his name has been on the nation’s footballing radar since a young age.

Perhaps unsurprising when you monitor his running style, Williams played at both running back and linebacker as a young child before turning to quarterback in the fifth grade. He starred at Gonzaga College High School on the way to guiding the team to a District Championship as a sophomore in 2018 while winning District Player of the Year after passing for 2,624 yards and 26 touchdowns as well as rushing for 394 yards and 10 scores. Having seen his senior year cancelled due to Covid, he became a five-star recruit and the No 2 quarterback prospect of his class behind Quinn Ewers before committing to the University of Oklahoma.

Upon teaming up with Lincoln Riley he went on to leapfrog Spencer Rattler as the Sooners’ starting quarterback midway through the 2021 campaign and went 5-2 while throwing for 1,912 yards and 21 touchdowns to four interceptions before entering the transfer portal in January 2022. He eventually reunited with Riley, who had departed a month before to take the head coaching job at USC.

Why is everybody talking about him?
It can be all too easy to toss the Mahomes label at any young quarterback who might show any kind of proclivity for torching opponents out of structure with playmaking imagination, play-extending invention and convention-challenging arm angles. With Williams, there is some substance to the comparisons.

Destruction via controlled chaos can often be the prevailing sell to Williams and a lead component behind links to a certain Kansas City Chiefs quarterback. Flick on the game tape and one of the immediate selling points is his ability to stick and slide with poise and feel in tight pockets, coupled with the explosiveness to escape pressure and make off-platform throws with consistent accuracy and conviction while out-of-structure.

Rarely do his eyes drop as he navigates oncoming pressure or as he rolls out to extend plays in search of secondary route separation from receivers. When the ball does come out, it does so with unerring zip, touch and anticipation from both a settled base and when off-balance.

His arm talent passes the eye test with the precision and power to attack all levels of the field, fizzing quick-release passes into short and intermediate avenues as well as comfortably taking the top off a defense to flip the field in one play. He looms as the ultimate playmaker, armed with the Mahomes-esque gift to improvise through absurd arm angles with which to squeeze passes through traffic and around bodies.

In working with Lincoln Riley he thrived while operating from a heavy zone read and RPO offense, showcasing the headache he poses for defenses as they are forced to contemplate his threat as both a passer and runner. Among the few blemishes might be a tendency to keep hold of the ball for too long in faith of his scrambling capabilities, but consistent decision-making suggests further development in that department. His 33 career fumbles, 16 of which came in 2023, meanwhile point to his aggression in a bid to make every play matter – not atypical of a young quarterback and something he can comfortably iron out with experience.

Williams can wriggle out of danger and deliver perfect throws, he can weave between defenders as a dynamic rushing threat, he can diagnose defenses and make slick pre-snap reads, he can dissect tight windows, he, crucially, has the statistics to speak to mature ball security as a passer despite the fearlessness with which he operates. He has the potential to be an immediate franchise-lifter, opening the door to a new era for a Bears organisation that has tried and failed in their search for a long-term solution under center.

Williams leaves the college stage having completed 735 of 1,099 passes for 10,082 yards and 93 touchdowns to just 14 interceptions across three seasons, alongside 289 carries for 960 yards and 27 end zone visits as one of the most accomplished dual-threat quarterback prospects to enter the NFL in recent memory.

He became the seventh Heisman Trophy winner in USC history in 2022 as well as winning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year after throwing for 4,537 passing yards and a school-record 42 touchdown passes to just five interceptions in addition to a single-season quarterback school-record 382 rushing yards. a school-record 42 touchdown passes alongside 4,537 passing yards

His 2023 might have demonstrated an even better version of him as Williams recorded a career-best completion percentage of 68.6 after finishing 266 of 388 passing for 3,633 yards and 30 touchdowns to five interceptions while rushing for 136 yards and 11 scores.

From a profile standpoint, the enormity of Williams and his reputation reportedly earned him around $10m in NIL money and endorsements over his final two seasons at USC after signing deals with the likes of Dr. Pepper, Nissan and Wendy’s, according to The Athletic.