NFL Analysis
4/25/24
5 min read
Caleb Williams NFL Draft 2024: Combine Results, Scouting Report For Chicago Bears QB
Caleb Williams' 2024 NFL COMBINE RESULTS
- Height: 6'1"
- Weight: 214 lbs
- 40-Time: DNP (Did Not Participate)
- 10-Yard Split: DNP
- Vertical: DNP
- Broad Jump: DNP
- 3-Cone: DNP
- Shuttle: DNP
Caleb Williams 2024 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT
STRENGTHS:
- Good ball carriage with a firm base ready to deliver. Compact yet powerful motion with easy drive velocity.
- Showed subtle pocket movement, maintaining his downfield focus and re-setting his base to drive the ball.
- Innate ability to make off-platform throws in the face of pressure and drive the ball at the intermediate levels.
- Power arm strength to drive the ball and outstanding second reaction ability to make plays outside of structure.
- Showed arm talent to make pace and touch throws when demanded. Could lay the ball out in front of receivers.
- Flashed the patience in the pocket and recognition of coverage to progression read from one side to the other.
- Made some outstanding second-reaction throws, moving to his left with velocity and precise ball placement.
- Special playmaking dimension, with his ability to make big-time throws on the move. Shows high-level improvisation.
- Outstanding feel for pressure and how to avoid and escape to make plays with his legs. Calm and composed.
- High-level field vision and spatial awareness allowed him to extend and create big plays out of chaos.
- Consistently precise ball placement on different kinds of throws. Threw with velocity, pace and touch.
- Gives offense designed run game element in specific situations. Effective on zone-read concepts. He's a good athlete.
- 2023 – Flashed the timing and anticipation demanded at the next level. Showed he could throw into windows.
- Snaps he showed comfortable pocket patience working through progressions making late-in-the-down throws.
- He effectively secured the ball with two hands when he moved in the pocket and reset his platform to deliver it.
WEAKNESSES:
- Tendency at times to climb the pocket when not needed. The results were drop backs where he created his own pressure.
- Needs to work on playing with more consistent, fundamental technique and discipline in the pocket.
- At times, a beat late with throws due to a lack of clean footwork in the pocket. Did not plant ready to deliver.
- 2022 tape did not show many timing and anticipation throws from the pocket. Must work on that part of his game.
- Not as accountable to the structure and execution of the system as coaches would want him to be.
- 2023 – Needs improvement with his footwork at the top of his drop. Tendency to hop and shuffle rather than plant.
- Showed a tendency to stay focused on routes-concepts when the coverage showed quickly it was not there.
- Too many drop backs when he left throws on the field within the context of the pass game concepts.
- Almost no college experience playing from under center (seven snaps in two years at USC). That’s a learned trait.
- He has a strong arm but is not a Tier 1 arm at the level of Josh Allen, Justin Herbert or Matthew Stafford; he will not be in that conversation in the NFL.
NFL TRANSITION:
Williams is a high-level prospect, and you could make the case he is one of the best quarterback prospects we have seen in recent years with his outstanding combination of physical, athletic and throwing traits.
What consistently stood out watching Williams' tape in 2022 and 2023 was his ability to control the ball and place it where he wanted. That trait cannot be overstated, given that ball placement is a non-negotiable when it comes to QB evaluation.
At this point, Williams is more of a playmaker than a refined pocket quarterback who can consistently execute the subtleties, nuances and disciplines of the position. Still, there is no question he can make off-script, outside-of-structure plays. His greatest strength will be his outstanding spatial awareness to calmly and effectively navigate chaos functioning intelligently and athletically at game speed.
What you did not see much of at USC was Williams executing NFL pass game concepts where he had to hit his back foot and make timing window throws vs. zone coverage. Overall, there is a glaring lack of NFL timing pass game elements vs. coverage (like flood, where he had to read the flat defender or hi-low concepts).
Williams is an exhilarating and frustrating combination of elite playmaking traits with flashes of high-level pocket play and a loose, at times reckless, feel to his game with too much movement and unrefined pocket mechanics and fundamentals.
There is no question he has high-level traits and brings a dynamic and, at times, spectacular playmaking dimension. That will get evaluators and coaches excited with the comparison to Patrick Mahomes likely to be made by many.
OTHER NOTES:
Williams graduated from Gonzaga High School in Washington, D.C., as the nation's No. 1 prospect regardless of position. He began his college career in Oklahoma before following Lincoln Riley to USC.
What stood out throughout the season watching Williams' 2023 tape was that the USC offensive line consistently struggled in pass protection, which played into Williams' instincts to break down and leave the pocket.
The other thing that was noticeable was the pass game concepts did not give Williams clean and defined progression reads with good spacing.
