Comparing Caleb Williams to Patrick Mahomes: 'Caleb's just way more athletic'

The expectations are already extremely high for USC quarterback Caleb Williams moving forward in his career, as the Heisman Trophy winner is widely regarded as a generational talent and a shoo-in for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

But Williams has also drawn some lofty comparisons, including some to reining Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes.

There’s no question that Williams has a long way to go in catching up to the achievements of Mahomes, but former NFL quarterback and renowned trainer Jordan Palmer told Sports Illustrated that the early comparison between the two is well warranted.

“I think it’s fair,” Palmer said “I just think that Caleb’s just way more athletic than Patrick. And a way better runner. So yeah, I do think it’s similar, except Caleb’s an attacking runner, he attacks the defense. And there’s a lot of quarterbacks, great quarterbacks, Patrick and Joe [Burrow] and guys that … if there’s a crease, they’ll get it. And if there’s an opportunity to get upfield and cut back and replace a defender, they’ll get it and they’re mobile enough to go and do that. But they don’t attack.”

Williams has shown off his scrambling abilities at the college level that resemble some of Mahomes’ work, displaying the ability to make defenders miss behind the line of scrimmage and make numerous off-platform throws with accuracy.

But Williams’ effectiveness as a runner is hard to deny, as he rushed for 442 yards in his freshman season at Oklahoma and rushed for 10 touchdowns last season at USC, two marks that Mahomes has not achieved in any of his seasons as a pro.

Mahomes did have one season where he rushed for 400-plus yards at Texas Tech, and two double-digit rushing touchdown seasons as well for the Red Raiders. But according to Palmer, Williams is a more dynamic rushing threat that also already shares some of the same intangibles as the NFL’s current greats.

“There’s just a bunch of those plays where he made that play because he was going to figure out a way to make a play in that moment,” Palmer said. “There are really good quarterbacks that I wouldn’t say that about—real good ones. … His best attribute is his competitiveness. So when you think about the way that Aaron [Rodgers], and I think Pat’s doing this now, then really Joe, taking the Bengals to the Super Bowl, it’s like you’re waiting for them to win, no matter what’s happening in the game. Essentially, I think Caleb’s one of those guys too.”

Only time will tell if Williams will be able to live up to the hype and comparisons surrounding him, but for now, he must be doing something right having his name in the same sentence as Super Bowl winners and league MVPs at the age of 21.