NFL
Caleb Williams’ stats show remarkable similarity with Patrick Mahomes
The Chicago Bears captured the USC quarterback as the No. 1 overall pick, claiming the biggest prospect in college football.
The No. 1 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft was Caleb Williams, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from the University of South Carolina. Williams joins the Chicago Bears off the back of a stellar college career that marked him out as a generational talent.
The Washington-born QB began his college career at Oklahoma, before transferring to USC at the end of his first year. On his first start for the Trojans he went 19/22 and threw two touchdowns in a resounding 66-14 win for USC. That year he won the AP College Football Player of the Year and was named the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner.
In the 2023 regular season Williams threw for 3,333 yards, throwing 30 passing touchdowns across 12 games. He finished his three-year college career with an incredible 130 touchdowns, across passing and rushing.
What achievement does Caleb Williams and Patrick Mahomes share?
The Heisman Trophy remains the Holy Grail for college players. In five of the last seven years the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft has been a Heisman winner and the likes of Cam Newton and Kyler Murray have gone on to have real success in NFL.
There is one statistic, however, that marks out Caleb Williams as a generational talent, one who could prove a transformational signing for the Bears. Williams is one of only two players in college history to record five or more touchdowns across ten games. The only other to achieve that feat? Three-time Super Bowl winner and three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, widely considered one of the best QBs in NFL history.
Williams has received countless comparisons to Mahomes, with many citing his ability to play off-the-cuff and willingness to keep hold of the ball in the pocket. In college both Williams and Mahomes had an average ‘time to throw’ that was far longer than their contemporaries, showing a supreme confidence in their abilities. Speaking ahead of the draft, Williams said he flattered by the comparison.
“There’s things that he does, physically — obviously, I’m not Patrick Mahomes and I’m not in his brain — but things that he does physically that I don’t think that I can’t do,” he explained. “So, I just call it respect, and hopefully soon I’ll be able to see him and have a good battle.”