ESPN analyst would take Caleb Williams over Jalen Hurts

ESPN analyst Ben Solak surely wasn't surprised to see how that one turned out. He not only believes the best is yet to come for Williams, but he also thinks he might be better than the Eagles' signal-caller right now.

I'm an avid Caleb Williams supporter. I would take Williams at this stage of his career over Hurts every day of the week. Still, I'm a complete nobody. No one is going to be in my mentions (besides Packer fans, who were rightfully upset with my declaration last week) for a homer take. Solak staked his claim and will surely be lambasted for it, though.

Regardless, it's not hard to see where he's coming from.

Both quarterbacks have displayed similar clutch traits over their (in Caleb's case, short) careers. However, from a talent perspective, it's hard not to go with the young buck, who can make every throw on the field and has a howitzer for a right arm. That was a major reason he was taken with the first overall pick in an absolutely loaded QB class. On the other hand, Hurts lack of arm talent was one of the reasons he was available until the 53rd pick in the (equally loaded) 2020 NFL Draft.

Outside of Hurts' all-around awful performance against the Chargers, he is known as one of the league's most risk-averse quarterbacks. He has thrown fewer than ten interceptions in three of his first four seasons as a full-time starter and (even with yesterday's four-interception game) is on pace to do it again this season.

Meanwhile, Williams has developed a similar reputation. He threw only six interceptions as a rookie (in one of the most dysfunctional situations a rookie QB has ever endured) and has six through 13 games this season.

Outside of completion percentage (Williams has 57.8% and Hurts has 64.7%) and rushing touchdowns (an area Hurts will always have an edge until the league bans the Tush Push), their numbers are actually eerily similar this season. On top of them both having six interceptions, they also both have 19 passing touchdowns. Williams has 2908 passing yards, and Hurts has 2754. Williams is on pace for just over 3800 yards, which is just under Hurts' career-best season of 3852 yards.

Williams' low completion percentage is an understandable strife for any detractor taking part in this conversation. His 57.8 completion percentage is very low and is the one statistical outlier from a passing perspective. While accuracy is partially to blame for the abnormality, his escapability is another significant factor in that regard.

It turns out that it's much more difficult to find completions on broken plays. Don't want to take my word for it? How about NFL legend Kurt Warner's, who's been there and done it with the best of 'em?

That's a fair assessment. Nobody in the league has been better at escaping pressure this season than Williams. That's one area of his game where he has clearly risen above Hurts (who was previously considered one of the league's premier escape artists).

Conversely, if you take career accolades into account, the pendulum swings heavily in Hurts' favor. Most Bears fans would be happy if Williams brings only one Super Bowl to Chicago. Likewise, if he were to win MVP in the big game, then he'd surely eat for free anywhere he goes within 100 miles of the city limits. Hurts has already accomplished both.

Still, if you were to take the stock report, taking both this past week (where they both ended the game with a backbreaking interception) and this season, into account, then Williams would come out victorious. There is something weird going on in Philadelphia right now, and Hurts is at the center of it.

Clearly, some even believe he has already overtaken the two-time Pro Bowler.