Caleb Williams' Dad Says Heisman Trophy Winner Could Spurn 2024 NFL Draft
If USC quarterback Caleb Williams had been eligible for the 2023 NFL Draft, he would have been the No. 1 overall pick instead of Alabama's Bryce Young.
He's long been the consensus pick to take that spot in the 2024 draft, and considering his start to the 2023 season, that scenario doesn't appear to be in any danger.
But what happens if Williams, the defending Heisman Trophy winner, decides he doesn't want to play for the team that ends up with that No. 1 pick after this season?
“The funky thing about the NFL draft process is, he’d almost be better off not being drafted than being drafted first. The system is completely backwards,” Carl Williams, Caleb's dad, recently told GQ Magazine. “The way the system is constructed, you go to the worst possible situation. The worst possible team, the worst organization in the league—because of their desire for parity—gets the first pick. So it’s the gift and the curse. I mean, I’ve talked to Archie Manning—his career was shot because he went to a horrible organization. I’ve talked to Lincoln [Riley], and Kyler [Murray] struggled because of where he was drafted. Baker [Mayfield] struggled mightily because of where he was drafted. The organizations matter.” And there’s a break-in-case-of-emergency option that Carl is keeping in mind. “He’s got two shots at the apple,” he says. “So if there’s not a good situation, the truth is, he can come back to school.”
Williams himself admits the odd nature of going from picking your landing spot at the college level to being at the mercy of the draft order when it's time to make the jump to the pros.
“I’ve always been able to choose the team that I’ve played on,” Caleb told GQ. “And then everything’s been scheduled for me. I’ve had a plan for treatment, I’ve had a plan for workouts, I’ve had a plan for eating, I’ve had a plan for nutrition and things like that. Vitamins. A lot of shrimp and chicken breasts and fish. But now, going into this next part of my career, it’s weird ’cause it’s so uncertain. You don’t know anything. You can’t control anything but you and how you act. That’s honestly the weirdest part for me, is the uncertainty.”
Williams could indeed return for another year with the Trojans and hope a better scenario comes to pass for the 2025 draft, but whatever team lands that pick might not be any better of a situation for him. His only option at that point, and one he could still use in 2024, would be to refuse to play for the team that ends up picking No. 1.
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That happened in 2004 with Eli Manning, who made it known he didn't want to play for the Chargers. They drafted him anyway, but quickly dealt him to the New York Giants, where he would win two Super Bowls.
It happened in 1986 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Bo Jackson, and Jackson made good on his promise to play baseball instead when the Bucs called his bluff and made him the top pick. He never played a down in Tampa Bay.
NFL teams might consider tanking the 2023 season in pursuit of Williams, but they'll have to do so with the full awareness that he might use whatever options available to avoid playing for them.