Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has been garnering a ton of hype following a breakout sophomore season, and analysts continue to sing his praises entering his third season, and second with head coach Ben Johnson.
The Herd’s Colin Cowherd will go against the grain if it is something he believes in. He gives hot takes here and there that can become head scratchers, but he always has confidence when giving his opinion. His latest ranking of the Top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL may come as a surprise to Bears fans, as he ranked Williams third — that’s right, third — behind only Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes.
That means Cowherd ranked Williams ahead of Los Angeles’ Matthew Stafford and Justin Herbert, Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, Seattle’s Sam Arnold, Detroit’s Jared Goff, Green Bay’s Jordan Love and New England’s Drake Maye.
Then there’s the fact that Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson didn’t even crack the list. Some would have him ahead of Williams on their list, but his stock has clearly fallen. There is also no Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders) or Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys) on this list either. There are a lot of good quarterbacks in the NFL, and Williams is trending upward.
Most lists would have Allen and Mahomes as the top two, in either order. However, having Williams right behind them is a legitimate amount of respect. It might be too early to have him ahead of Burrow and Stafford, but that’s the way Colin feels about it right now.
“He made two plays in the playoffs last year, one against Green Bay and one against the Rams, that broke football physics,” Cowherd said. “It was early Mahomes. They just didn’t make any sense.”
If it were a list of “best quarterbacks over the next three years,” Williams would be perfectly slotted at three, but edging out the reigning MVP in Stafford, or Burrow, who has been one of the best when he’s healthy, seems premature.
Williams is also ahead of his draft mates Daniels and Maye on this list. Although Daniels and Maye have each been to a conference championship or beyond, Cowherd sees Williams as the superior talent.
Part of the reason that Cowherd buys this Williams stock is his low interception rate, his ability to make big-time plays in the clutch, and the fact that he has rarely ever been hurt. With Williams entering his second year with Johnson, he may be spot on. As long as the Bears see development and win football games, it will be a win for them.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: You won’t believe where one NFL analyst ranked Bears QB Caleb Williams
Reporting by Vincent Parise, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Vincent Parise, Bears Wire | USA TODAY Network
