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According to Mel Kiper Jr., Caleb Williams can feel safe in retaining the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Williams entered the 2023 season as the undisputed best quarterback in college football and possibly the best player overall. However, a second half of the season, which saw the Trojans lose five of six games, made experts wonder if Williams is truly the best signal-caller in college football.
Kiper, though, said about Williams in Thursday's "First Draft" on ESPN:
"Overall the last two years he's been phenomenal, so he's cemented at No. 1."
Some analysts have started wondering if teams wouldn't prefer to pick highly touted prospect Drake Maye out of North Carolina or LSU's 2023 Heisman winner Jayden Daniels over Caleb Williams.
Experts are especially worried about Williams' mental state, as his confidence seemed to unravel as adversities mounted during the second half of the season. Never before had the young player been confronted with such a poor streak. After a defeat to Washington, he was even be seen crying on national TV.
Some experts also have Marvin Harrison Jr. from Ohio State as their top pick. The wide receiver is considered by many to be the most talented player in college football at the moment.
Caleb Williams 2023 season by the numbers
This season, Caleb Williams threw for 3633 yards, with 30 touchdowns and five interceptions.
His QBR of 82.3 ranked No. 11th among quarterbacks in the nation while his completion percentage was 68.3%. Running-wise, it was a low-yardage year for Williams with 136, although a productive one with 11 rushing touchdowns.
In 2022, he had a higher number in almost every department. In his Heisman year, he recorded 4537 passing yards with 42 touchdowns and five interceptions. He ran for 382 yards, a whopping number for a signal-caller.
However, he had one rushing touchdown less, at 10. Williams also had a lower completion percentage of 66.6% and averaged slightly fewer yards per pass with 9.1 compared to 9.4 in 2022.
