Ryan Leaf shares a warning for the Bears about this draft prospect

Merril Hoge clearly isn't the only retired NFL player who has serious questions about what USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams will and won't be as a rookie. 

Per Andrew McCarty of The Spun and Paul Harvey of Saturday Down South, former signal-caller and current NFL analyst Ryan Leaf said during a Tuesday appearance on the "Dan Patrick Show" that the Chicago Bears had better be "under the understanding" that they need to sit Williams throughout his debut pro season. 

The Bears are widely expected to trade current starting quarterback Justin Fields before they make Williams the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. 

"75% of what made him so great in college is not transferable to the NFL," Leaf said about Williams. "He’s not going to be able to do that. He can’t do what he did in college 75% of the time and be successful at the NFL level. He can do the 25% at the NFL level, but he needs some time." 

Specifically, Leaf questioned Williams' ability to "get under center" and make plays from the pocket in an NFL offense. Hoge, meanwhile, has repeatedly insisted throughout the winter that Williams "is not special" and should not be a lock to be the No. 1 pick of the draft instead of LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels. 

As shared by Nikki Chavanelle of On3, retired quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky named Daniels his top-ranked signal-caller in this year's draft class over Williams before and after the scouting combine that wrapped up this past weekend. 

Interestingly, Leaf referred to Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. as "the most accurate down-the-field passer I’ve seen come out of college in I can’t tell you." Penix reportedly was "the winner among the quarterbacks" who threw at the combine. 

It is, of course, worth noting that plenty of knowledgeable individuals disagree with the likes of Hoge, Leaf and Orlovsky regarding Williams. 

For a mock draft published on Tuesday, ESPN's Jordan Reid wrote that Williams "has all of the qualities that it takes to quickly become an NFL star." Reid, multiple CBS Sports analysts and Lance Zierlein of the league's website are among those who continue to predict Chicago will happily grab Williams on the night of April 25. 

"At this point, any outcome other than the Bears taking Williams with this selection would be a shock," Zierlein said on Monday.