Caleb Williams Draft Profile | USC, QB Scouting Report

This college football season is shaping up to be one for the ages as the four-team College Football Playoff comes to an end. Leading the 2024 NFL Draft prospects is USC quarterback Caleb Williams. We’re diving into Williams’ scouting report as the Heisman Trophy winner looks to repeat his stellar 2022 season.

Caleb Williams Draft Profile and Measurements

• Height: 6’1″
• Weight: 218
• School: USC
• Age: 21

Starting his career in Oklahoma and replacing Spencer Rattler as the Sooners’ quarterback, Williams was a star from the moment he got on the field. He followed head coach Lincoln Riley to USC after 2021, where he won the Heisman Trophy. He totaled 4,357 passing yards, 42 touchdowns, and only five interceptions in 2022.

Williams has emerged as the latest elite NFL quarterback prospect with two straight seasons averaging 9.1 yards per attempt, a pass-efficiency rating over 168.5, and countless electrifying plays.

Caleb Williams Scouting Report

Strengths

• Excellent arm talent that is capable of delivering an accurate pass to all levels of the field.
• Effortlessly generates velocity on short and intermediate throws, even if he’s unable to align his body and plant his feet.
• Accuracy and ball placement consistently allow his playmakers to maximize opportunities after the catch. Williams leads receivers upfield and often hits the correct shoulder for them to continue their momentum.
• A fantastic player outside of structure as he correctly reads defenders’ leverage and angles, then capitalizes on opportunities with accurate throws.
• Extremely efficient with completion rate while protecting the ball from defenders.
• Often overcame mediocre blocking while outproducing his peers.
• His anticipation while playing in structure was good when he had the time to throw in the pocket.
• Able to produce chunk plays to help overcome an offense that cannot sustain consistent drives.
• Williams shows very good pocket mobility and is willing to keep his eyes downfield as he buys time for his receivers.
• Able scrambler thanks to his quickness but is not reliant on his legs to move the chains.

Weaknesses

• Struggled to play within the offense’s timing, sometimes due to poor blocking and other times because he wanted to extend the play for bigger opportunities. Williams must find a better balance when the game flow calls for it.
• Prone to getting happy feet and breaking out of the pocket before it’s necessary.
• Can find a better balance between being a playmaker and taking the easier throw to extend drives. This can become a bigger weakness due to a lack of anticipation or pre-snap understanding of coverages.
• His size is not ideal, lacking height and a fuller frame than his peers.

Current Draft Projection and Summary

Williams is an immensely gifted playmaker. He’ll enter the NFL as one of the premier arm talents and creators at quarterback on Day 1. His ability to devastate the will of defenses after evading pressure is reminiscent of peak Josh Allen.

Unlike Allen, though, Williams consistently makes good decisions with the ball and avoids turnover-worthy plays. Williams lacks Allen’s immense size and ability to shed would-be tacklers similarly, but the two thrive in chaos that we’ve rarely seen.

The biggest area Williams can prove himself is as an anticipatory passer on three- and five-step drops. Riley hasn’t prioritized this because Williams is trusted to be even more effective when breaking the play’s design.

Williams shows good instincts and vision when he plays within the scheme, but I want to see more of it to know whether it’s an actual weakness or something he decides against using more.

Williams will transform the organization he lands with very early in his career. He’s a slam-dunk top-two quarterback in the 2024 class and has the tools and skill set to be an All-Pro in the NFL.