Recency bias affects all kinds of decisions in life, and NFL drafts are no different. Just because you’re thought to be the drop-dead No. 1 prospect in a future draft when an NCAA season begins doesn’t mean you’ll stay there.
So it is in this particular mock draft with USC’s Caleb Williams, whose last two games has to have NFL evaluators shaking their heads and wondering just what’s going on down in Southern California.
In the first six weeks of USC’s 2023 season, Williams completed 120 of 168 passes for 1,836 yards, 22 touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 144.2. In his last two games, Williams completed 47 of 72 passes for 455 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 70.1. This isn’t all Williams’ fault — protection and scheme have also been issues — but when you have a situation in which there’s another quarterback knocking on Williams’ door for that No. 1 spot, it can complicate the conversation.
In this case, that guy complicating the conversation is North Carolina’s Drake Maye. Maye has completed 160 of 270 passes this season for 2,249 yards, 14 touchdowns, five interceptions, and a passer rating of 102.5. While he does not possess Williams’ mind-bending skill set, and while a strong finish to the season should propel Williams back up to the top… well, right now, I’d bet there are quite a few NFL personnel people who are torn.
So, we have the Chicago Bears selecting Maye with the first overall pick, and hopefully trading Justin Fields to a team actually interested in maximizing his abilities. A good deal for all!
As for Williams? Well, his landing spot would certainly start all kinds of other conversations regarding the professional future of one Russell Carrington Wilson.
Here’s the rest of out first-round projections for this particular 2024 NFL mock draft.
1. Chicago Bears (from Carolina Panthers): Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
(Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports)
2. Arizona Cardinals: Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
(Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch)
3. Chicago Bears: Olumuyiwa Fashanu, OT, Penn State
(John Reed-USA TODAY Sports)
(Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
5. New York Giants: Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama
(Syndication: The Knoxville News-Sentinel)
(Syndication: Online Athens)
(Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)
8. Minnesota Vikings: Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State
(Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports)
(Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports)
10. Tennessee Titans: Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
(Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports)
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)
(Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports)
13. Indianapolis Colts: Chop Robinson, EDGE, Penn State
(Syndication: Hanover Evening Sun)
(Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
(Syndication: The Des Moines Register)
16. Arizona Cardinals (from Houston Texans): Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama
(Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News)
17. New York Jets: Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State
(Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports_
(Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports)
(Syndication: The Register Guard)
20. Atlanta Falcons: Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington
(Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports)
21. Buffalo Bills: Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson
(Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY NETWORK)
22. Dallas Cowboys: Leonard Taylor III, DI, Miami
(Andy Lewis-USA TODAY Sports)
(Syndication: The Daily Advertiser)
24. Houston Texans (from Cleveland Browns): Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State
(Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports)
25. Seattle Seahawks: Chris Braswell, EDGE, Alabama
(Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports)
26. Detroit Lions: Tyler Nubin, S, Minnesota
(Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
(Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports)
28. Baltimore Ravens: Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
(Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch)
(Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
(Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
(Syndication: Austin American-Statesman)
(Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports)
Story originally appeared on Touchdown Wire
2023-10-27 14:10:36
#Drake #Maye #overtakes #Caleb #Williams #firstround #projections
