Analyst: This bottom-feeder should 'move heaven and earth' to get Caleb Williams
Holding the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Washington Commanders are in prime position to get the top-rated player on their draft board.
If that player is USC quarterback Caleb Williams, however, the team may have to package some draft picks and players to entice the Chicago Bears to move back and allow the Commanders to move up one spot and land college football’s most hyped prospect since Andrew Luck.
Whatever the price, ESPN analyst Louis Riddick recently stated on an episode of “Get Up” that he believes the Commanders should pay it because Williams could be the kind of franchise-changing player the team needs, and they have the offensive coordinator who perhaps knows how to get the most out of him.
“If you’re sitting there and you’re Washington, and you have Kliff Kingsbury, and Caleb is from the area, and he has a great relationship with Kliff already,” Riddick said. “…The right conclusion for Washington is do what you’ve got to do to get this guy on your football team because nobody in your organization knows Caleb like Kliff Kingsbury does. … If he gives him the stamp of approval, then you move heaven and earth to get in position to draft him because you ain’t going nowhere with the people you’ve got.”
Washington hired Kingsbury to be its next offensive coordinator just a few days ago. He spent last season as a senior offensive analyst with USC working directly with Williams, who threw for 3,633 yards, 30 touchdown passes and just five interceptions and rushed for 11 touchdowns while leading the Trojans to an 8-5 record.
Although Williams had a down year, scouts feel his Heisman Trophy-winning sophomore season in 2022, in which he threw for 4,537 yards, 42 touchdowns and five interceptions and rushed for another 10 scores is more indicative of the kind of player Williams will be in the NFL.
“The guy truly, from a passing the football perspective, from an off-schedule playmaking perspective, from a running perspective — I’ve watched this young man do some things where you’re sitting there and you’re going…look, he has some of that kind of pocket presence, foot quickness, arm talent, and then speed that goes above and beyond what Patrick [Mahomes] can do,” Riddick added. “I’m talking about pure open-field running ability and speed. And he has some of the same natural passing characteristics that Patrick has.”
Several media pundits believe the Bears will trade Justin Fields and draft Williams first overall and build their team around him, while others believe Chicago will hold onto Fields, trade the No. 1 pick for additional draft capital and build around Fields.
If Washington offers Chicago a trade worth its while, like say the No. 2 overall pick, one of its 2024 second-rounders, one of its 2024 third-rounders, plus its 2025 first-rounder, that may be enough to get the attention of Bears general manager Ryan Poles.
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