Thanks to a trade with the Carolina Panthers that has a chance of going down as one of the greatest heists in NFL history, the Chicago Bears own the number one pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, with generational quarterback prospect Caleb Williams the likely prize. Williams, the USC Trojans product who won the Heisman Trophy in 2022, is considered one of the most complete quarterback prospects in league history, with comparisons to Patrick Mahomes coming regularly from coaches, analysts, and believe it or not, rap icon Snoop Dogg.
The only knock on Caleb Williams at this point in time has nothing to do with his mechanics, skill, or upside as a quarterback. It's all about his perceived lack of competitiveness, which seemingly stems from an incident this season where Williams was seen crying in the stands with his mother after a USC loss. How that equates to a guy not being competitive doesn't totally make sense to me, but hey, I digress.
Caleb Williams' USC teammate MarShawn Lloyd recently spoke with Bears beat writer Nicholas Moreano, and Lloyd explained that one of the things that makes Williams such a special player and prospect was, in fact, his competitiveness, and how that's not something Williams turns off when it's not game day.
“How mad he was over a dodgeball game just shows you how much he loves to win,” Lloyd said, recounting an instance when Williams' team was defeated by Lloyd's team in a game of dodgeball.
If this is truly the case and not just Lloyd gassing up his quarterback, then as minuscule as the detail may seem, it could be a good indicator of what's to come. After all, one of the possibly apocryphal stories about Michael Jordan's competitiveness is that he was beat by Christian Laettner in a game of ping-pong during the 1992 Summer Olympics, and responded by ordering a ping-pong table to his hotel room, where he practiced for three days straight and then played Laettner again, easily beating him in their second meeting. So with that said, why shouldn't we give Caleb Williams some credit for turning into White Goodman when he plays dodgeball?
Marshawn Lloyd also mentioned that Caleb Williams was competitive with “bubble gum chewing,” which makes me wonder whether Williams has been watching Pete Carroll tape while also working on his throwing mechanics and footwork.
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