Aaron Murray believes Caleb Williams is 'Mahomes today'
Lofty praise isn’t anything new for QB Caleb Williams, especially with what he’s done over his two collegiate seasons at Oklahoma and USC. Even so, Aaron Murray placed yet another healthy helping of approval upon the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.
Murray talked about Williams’ potential in an interview on the ‘3 and Out’ Podcast with John Middlekauff. He said that, as of today, Williams is as good of a prospect as Patrick Mahomes is a player right now for the Kansas City Chiefs. He sees him as everything that Mahomes is but without all of the development that he did as a backup over his first NFL season.
“Caleb will be the first player picked in the draft this year,” Murray stated. “I’m just such a big fan of Mahomes and what Mahomes has done. And, to me, he is Mahomes today. There isn’t the work that Andy Reid needs to put into it of sitting behind Alex Smith for a year, refining his tools, and kind of giving him the keys to the car the following year.”
“Like, you get Caleb now? He’s ready to go,” Murray said. “And he does everything you want from a quarterback standpoint. The arm talent, the accuracy, the escapability, the creativity, the running ability. All that stuff.”
For another comparison, Murray also declared Williams as a better prospect than this year’s No. 1 pick in Bryce Young. Considering how much talk there was about Young going back to back in New York last offseason, he added that he also believes that Williams has a better chance to go back to back as the sport’s Heisman in ’23.
“To me, I know Bryce (Young) was in a position to go for back to back Heismans. (But) Caleb is the better prospect than Bryce Young was,” said Murray. “It’s even more of a legitimate opportunity to go back to back when it comes to Heismans.
These statements hold a lot of weight. With all the accolades that Mahomes, and even Young, have accumulated, this sort of high regard says a lot about what Murray, along with others, thinks about Williams heading into his third college season.
Still, they’re just the latest words in a well-earned, uninterrupted stream of acclaim for Williams. They place a ton of weight upon his shoulders but, in Murray’s opinion, Williams is more than capable of living up to it while right in the middle of Hollywood as well as when he’s prepared on day one as a pro.
“He is Mahomes. But he is more ready to play in the NFL earlier than Mahomes was. I think he’s a better prospect,” Murray said. “Right now? Caleb? He’s special. I mean he’s special.”