Bears might want to listen to Ryan Leaf explaining why Caleb Williams is a gamble at No. 1
If you can believe it, another football analyst is making the rounds with an outsized take on this year's QB class. The latest example? Former NFL player and now analyst Ryan Leaf, who had quite the take on USC star – and probable 1st overall pick – Caleb Williams. Left, who was talking on the Dan Patrick Show, warned Bears fans that if the team does take Williams first overall in next month's draft, they should be prepared to have him sit ... even though that won't happen, he claims? It's a weird take:
"You better be understanding that you're going to sit him this year," Leaf said. "And that's not going to happen. Because 75% of what made him great in college is not transferable in the NFL. He's not going to be able to do that. He can't do what he do in college 75% of the time and be succesful. He can do the 25% part at the NFL, but he needs some time. He needs to get under center. He needs to understand how to throw on time, on platform, from the pocket. What he can do off platform is what makes him so exciting, because he may be one of the most talented quarterbacks in this year's draft and many of the past year's drafts. But he is a guy that I don't think can be a starter on Day 1."
I mean, whatever. At this point, the secret's out on how to get attention during draft season. Incendiary takes on draft prospects certainly aren't a new phenomenom, and yet with such a strong class of QB prospects this year, it feels like the leadup has been especially brutal this time around. To Leaf's credit, he at least admitted that Williams was an exciting prospect – a lot of hot takes won't even go that "far." There's not a lot of substance in this take besides "he's potentially good, but could be bad," which kinda seems like it sums up 50% of draft analysis now. In fact, it's kind of a shame because all the Williams stuff takes the attention away from his much more interesting points about Washington QB Michael Penix. But if you were wondering what former NFL QB Ryan Leaf had to say about Caleb Williams, now you know.