Caleb Williams’ Injury Fears Raise Alarms for Ex-NFL Scout in the 2024 Draft

NFL drafts are a question of the future of their franchise for the NFL teams. Of course, the scouts, coaches, and managers are going to test the candidates’ limits before finalizing on the best ones who survive. When the top college football players were busy heaping the numbers on their records last season, some of their flaws were out there on camera which the football gurus are dishing out to highlight the strengths, and, more importantly, the weaknesses of the players.

If it was about a second-last or last-round pick, Daniel Kelly, former NFL New York Jets NFL scout, wouldn’t have humiliated a star player like Caleb Williams so mercilessly. But he’s the first projected pick with Drake Maye of the 2024 NFL draft. So Kelly had to give his brutally honest opinion on Caleb Williams. During his extension on Kelly “officially removing Caleb Williams from his draft board,” Kelly put his years of experience to point out the flaws of Williams – His messy footwork.

According to him, a quarterback’s footwork is foundational in timing routes receivers run in the NFL. This timing route problems, paired with the unfamiliar receivers with the pressure of the NFL scouts evaluating him, was a reason for Williams to opt out of the golden opportunity for entering the NFL called the NFL Combine.

However, that’s not where Kelly’s questions for Caleb Williams end. It further drills down deep into Williams’s possible fear of injuries within the Combine, mainly keeping in mind the above-mentioned reasons. An unforeseen injury ahead of the NFL draft would steeply pummel Williams’ draft stock.

“I don’t believe Williams trusts the receivers at the Combine. I believe he’s afraid that his ‘footwork’ (and inconsistent downfield ball placement on game film) will be exposed and his draft stock will fall,” Kelly believed, highlighting another reason why Williams’ NFL stocks could fall. However, it’s just Kelly’s views while the rest of the NFL still believes Williams is a top snatch in the first round.

Caleb Williams rankings

Leaving Kelly out of the question, Caleb Williams seems to be the favorite among the franchises as several institutions and analysts have ranked him as one of the top draft picks. In fact, ESPN ranked Caleb Williams as the 2nd best available player for the NFL draft. Whereas several others like Yahoo Sports, the Athletic, and Fox Sports have predicted Williams to steal the number 1 pick in the NFL draft.

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However, an ex-NFL scout raising unanswered questions like Williams missing the Liberty Bowl and the NFL Combine has brought some looming doubts to the forefront. Will these questions impact the current perspective that teams have on Williams? With the NFL draft day fast approaching, Williams would have to make sure to clear all the questions as his future is at stake.