Powered by On3

Caleb Williams crashes teammate Brenden Rice’s NFL Combine press conference

Matt Connollyby:Matt Connolly03/01/24

MattConnollyOn3

USC QB Caleb Williams
(Matt Cashore | USA TODAY Sports)

The NFL combine isn’t just an opportunity for players to impress in front of NFL scouts. It also provides them a chance to answer questions from the media. Former USC quarterback Caleb Williams got in on the question asking during teammate Brenden Rice’s press conference on Friday.

Williams, who is the likely No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, asked Brenden Rice what it’s like to be the son of arguably the greatest receiver of all time.

“How does it feel to be Jerry Rice’s son?” Caleb Williams asked.

“Man, it feels even better to be a teammate of Caleb Williams,” Brenden Rice replied.

After that, Williams had a follow-up question for Rice. This time he asked about fantasy football.

“Why should they draft you as a fantasy player?” Williams asked. “Should you be Wide Receiver 1 or a flex player or what is it?”

Rice responded that he is confident in his playmaking skills and is a WR1. Rice caught 45 passes for 791 yards and 12 touchdowns last season.

“I should be Wide Receiver 1, man, obviously,” Rice said. “Me and you, shoot, what’d we have — 45 catches and 12 [touchdowns]? That’s unheard of.”

Rice also took the opportunity to give Caleb Williams some credit.

“I had a pretty damn good quarterback,” he said.

You can watch the exchange below.

Caleb Williams explains decision to decline medical exams at NFL Combine

Caleb Williams isn’t doing much at this week’s NFL combine. That includes not going through medical testing.

The likely top pick in the NFL Draft will let teams examine him at some point, just not yet.

“For the medical stuff, I’ll be doing the medical stuff — just not here in Indy,” Williams told reporters. “I’ll be doing it at the team interviews. You know, not 32 teams can draft me. There’s only one of me. And so, the teams that I go to for my visits, those teams will have the medical [information], and that’ll be it.”

The Bears own the No. 1 pick of the NFL Draft. Chicago still has not decided whether to move on from their quarterback, Justin Fields, and select Williams. The early draft buzz suggests they will. And oddsmakers already have established the Falcons as Fields’ next team.

The Bears also can trade the pick, which they received from Carolina for a trade last year. There are several teams in the market for a new quarterback. The Commanders select No. 2. They could come up with the capital to swap spots with the Bears. The Patriots also could be interested since it seems likely they will move on from Mac Jones.

Other teams that desire a quarterback from what could be an elite class include the Raiders, Broncos, Vikings, Falcons, Steelers and Giants. DraftKings laid odds for a dozen teams to draft Williams.

And Williams says he plans to do plenty of traveling between the combine and NFL Draft day, April 25.

“I plan on visiting a good amount of teams,” Williams said. “I don’t exactly know what the plan is with that, just because I’ve met with teams that I didn’t know I was going to meet with when I got here.”