The Chicago Bears currently hold the No. 1 pick in next month's NFL Draft.
For nearly two years, former USC quarterback Caleb Williams was projected to be the first player taken once he decided to declare for the draft.
But after the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner's production dipped slightly in 2023, more and more questions began to arise about whether he should be the first quarterback selected in this year's draft. Some have even argued over whether Williams' skills would transfer to the NFL.
Ryan Leaf, the second overall pick in the 1998 draft, appears to be among those who have some doubts about Williams.
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Ryan Leaf leaving the field before a college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Georgia State Panthers on August 31, 2019 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Leaf doesn't think Caleb Williams should be a Day 1 starter for any NFL team that drafts him.
His comments about Williams came during the latest “Dan Patrick Show” when Dan Patrick started the conversation with a simple question: “If the Bears take Caleb Williams…?”
That's when Leaf surprised the audience.
Leaf said most of Williams' skills are not transferable without development.
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Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams warms up before an NCAA college football game against UCLA, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
“If you pick him, you better understand that you're going to sit him out this year, and that's not going to happen,” Leaf said of the potential No. 1 pick.
“Seventy-five percent of what made him so great in college is not transferable to the NFL. 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 in college. NFL level,” Leaf explained. “He can do 25% at the NFL level, but he needs some time.”
So what is the 75% of the game you can't do right now?
Well, Leaf explained that Williams doesn't play under center, doesn't play in time, and learned to play the quarterback position from the pocket.
Leaf went on to say that the only two quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft that he believes can start on Day 1 are Jayden Daniels and Michael Penix Jr.
Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams, left, gets away from Washington defensive end Bralen Trice during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
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The former NFL quarterback explained that Penix's accuracy makes him the best quarterback prospect in this year's draft, not Williams.
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