Who is Caleb Williams? The NFL’s next superstar quarterback being compared to Patrick Mahomes

Every team in the NFL wants a Patrick Mahomes. The Chicago Bears hope they are about to get one of their own.

Whether burden or blessing, Caleb Williams enters the 2024 NFL draft as the latest superstar college quarterback prospect and perhaps the first to draw legitimate comparisons to the three-time Super Bowl champion.

The Bears let their intentions be known earlier this offseason when they traded quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers just three seasons after drafting him, paving the way for general manager Ryan Poles to use their number one pick on Williams.

Chicago has been awaiting its answer at quarterback with which to propel the Bears back into perennial contention. They might be about to get their man.

Williams, 22, finds himself sitting somewhere among the likes of Trevor Lawrence, Andrew Luck and Cam Newton when it comes to the most recognised, talked-about and anticipated quarterback prospects in recent years.

As was the case with Lawrence, his name has been on the nation’s footballing radar since a young age.

Perhaps unsurprising given his running style, Williams played at both running back and linebacker as a young child before turning to quarterback in the fifth grade (aged 10-11).

He starred at Gonzaga College High School on the way to guiding the team to a District Championship as a sophomore in 2018 while winning District Player of the Year after passing for 2,624 yards and 26 touchdowns as well as rushing for 394 yards and 10 scores.

Having seen his senior year cancelled due to COVID-19, he became a five-star recruit and the number two quarterback prospect of his class behind Quinn Ewers before committing to the University of Oklahoma.

He became starting quarterback midway through the 2021 season and went 5-2 while throwing for 1,912 yards and 21 touchdowns to four interceptions before entering the transfer portal in January 2022.

Why is everybody talking about him?

It can be all too easy to toss the Mahomes label at any young quarterback who might show any kind of proclivity for torching opponents out of structure with playmaking imagination, play-extending invention and convention-challenging arm angles. With Williams, there is some substance to the comparisons.

Destruction via controlled chaos can often be the prevailing sell to Williams and a lead component behind links to a certain Kansas City Chiefs quarterback.

Flick on the game tape and one of the immediate selling points is his ability to stick and slide with poise and feel in tight pockets, coupled with the explosiveness to escape pressure and make off-platform throws with consistent accuracy and conviction while out-of-structure.