NFL QB coach on Caleb Williams: 'He’s the closest I’ve seen to Patrick Mahomes'

Williams won the Heisman Trophy last season after throwing for 4,537 yards and 42 touchdowns

It's been pretty well documented that if Caleb Williams was eligible for this year's NFL Draft, he'd likely be the No. 1 pick.

The Athletic's Bruce Feldman put out a story on Tuesday that detailed a few NFL coaches' thoughts on USC's junior-to-be — and they agreed. 

The biggest compliment paid to Williams came from an NFL Quarterbacks coach who compared Williams to the reigning NFL MVP.

"He’s the closest I’ve seen to (Patrick) Mahomes," the coach told Feldman. "He’s like a refined Mahomes. It’s hard to compare anybody to Mahomes, but he really does play like him. I don’t think his arm is quite like that, but it’s definitely special for college. It’s not quite as freaky as Pat’s, but it’s upper-level for the NFL.”

Williams won the Heisman Trophy last season after throwing for 4,537 yards and 42 touchdowns, which led the nation. Williams also rushed for 382 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Trojans went 11-3. 

After USC's spring game, head coach Lincoln Riley was asked what Williams can improve on going from his sophomore to junior season.

"I think consistency in situations, situation mastery," Riley said. "I thought he did some really good things last year, but there are some things that we would want back. There's learning the position, there's learning the offense, there's learning the routes, there's learning how to execute, and then you take it, and the game situation can change a lot of that. You have to be able to process that so quickly because the situation can change down to down. We've really worked hard on that. It was good last year. It needs to be great this year."

Williams and USC open the 2023 season at home against San Jose State on Aug. 26.