The 2024 NFL Draft is coming up this Thursday, April 25, with the expectation that former USC star quarterback Caleb Williams will be taken first overall by the Chicago Bears. It may be the worst-kept secret in the NFL these days, but Williams is a star in the making, even before stepping foot on an NFL field. Williams has all the tools to be successful in the NFL and can make any throw that a team may need him to within a game.
However, one AFC scout doesn't see him as the top quarterback in this draft. Instead, they believe that Jayden Daniels out of LSU should be the top selection this year.
"If I was picking, I would pick Jayden Daniels No. 1," an AFC scout said. "Better athlete. I think he loves football more. I believe that he's just a better f---ing player. And I think he's on the rise and Caleb's kind of going lateral."
Daniels is a very talented player himself, having won the 2023 Heisman Trophy after a spectacular season with the Tigers. But he isn't on the same level as Williams, at least when it comes to a potential prospect. This isn't a knock against Daniels but rather an ode to how special of a talent Williams truly is and can be.
Both players won Heisman Trophies while in college, giving them the claim to potentially be the top guy selected. But Daniels is more of a dual-threat with the football, while Williams is more of a pure pocket passer. Teams tend to want more of a pure quarterback prototype when drafting this high, giving Williams the clear edge.
"He's an escape artist in terms of his play style," an NFC scouting director said. "The guy can get out of any play, he can throw off-platform, he can run around, make things happen. That is his strength, and that might also be his weakness right now, because he's never throwing from the pocket. He's never throwing on platform. It's a lot of tunnel screens out to the perimeter or he's running for his life. Obviously, the offensive line was a little bit up and down [last] year, the defense was not very good, and he was in a gunfight every single week."
Both players should be able to thrive in the NFL, and assuming that Daniels goes second overall, they will forever be linked. The two men will have their careers compared to each other for the rest of their playing days, and only then will we truly know who the better draft pick was.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Matt Levine works as a contributing writer for Newsweek, covering multiple sports. He graduated in 2021 with a Master of ... Read more
