New 2024 NFL mock draft predicts massive fall for USC QB Caleb Williams

USC quarterback Caleb Williams was once considered the darling of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Coming off his Heisman Trophy campaign in 2022, Williams was expected to be among the Heisman favorites this season and perhaps lead USC to the College Football Playoff.

What happened in 2023 was certainly a disappointment considering those expectations. Williams was good (3,633 yards and 30 touchdowns with five interceptions) but USC went 7-5 and he ultimately didn't look like the quarterback he was last season.

As such, it was expected that Williams' NFL Draft stock would take a hit, but a recent 2024 NFL Mock Draft from Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports is projecting more than a hit. He has Williams going from the likely No. 1 overall pick to No. 6 overall as the third quarterback taken. That's quite a fall.

Here's how Trapasso sees it, as he mocks Williams to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"Buccaneers GM Jason Licht is never one to back away from a splash move in the offseason. Here, he swings a deal with the Jets to stop Williams' fall," Trapasso wrote.

This hypothetical scenario would see the Buccaneers move up to No. 6 from No. 10, with the New York Jets moving down and presumably picking up some more draft capital.

That would be a bold move by the Buccaneers and it's certainly a bold mock by Trapasso, but the real shocker here is that he sees North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye and LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels going No. 1 (Chicago Bears) and No. 2 (New England Patriots) respectively.

Maye is 6-foot-4, 230 pounds and more of a prototypical NFL pocket passer. Daniels is 6-foot-4, 210 pounds and moves like Lamar Jackson but with a better arm. 

At only 6-foot-1, 215 pounds and coming off a "struggle" of a season in 2023, perhaps that's why Trapasso sees Williams falling.