NEWSLETTER
With USC’s loss to UCLA last weekend, all eyes are on Caleb Williams who has a significant decision to make in the coming months. Williams can declare for the 2024 NFL Draft, where he’ll be the top QB prospect and the favorite to be selected No. 1 overall in April in Detroit.
He could also stay at USC for another season. This has always been a possibility. An unlikely possibility, to be clear, but a possibility nonetheless.
Williams’ father, Carl, suggested to GQ in September that Williams had “two shots at the apple” and might return to school “if there’s not a good situation” waiting for him in the NFL. I didn’t believe it then, and I don’t believe that to be true now. But, it’s a possibility.
Will Caleb Williams declare for the 2024 NFL Draft?
Williams was asked by the L.A. Times this week whether or not he would declare for the NFL Draft, and the USC quarterback called his decision a “game-time decision.”
Williams has until January 15 to make his decision, and I wouldn’t expect him to do so until that week. He’s reeling from an emotional season in Southern California, where the Trojans finished 7-5 and have no shot at the CFB Playoffs. Williams was emotional after tough losses down the stretch, a talking point for some this season.
After he processes the emotion of a wildly disappointing season — from a team standpoint — Williams’ decision should be pretty straightforward. For all the hoopla about his struggles down the stretch, Williams’ numbers didn’t dip too far from his wild and impressive output last season when he won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore.
He averaged 303 passing yards per game and 3.4 total touchdowns per game for a USC team that was a disaster outside of Williams. Last season, he averaged 324 passing yards and 3.71 touchdowns per game.
Despite enduring quite a humbling learning experience this year, Williams is still, without question, the top QB in the 2024 draft class. If he chooses to stay at USC, there’s not much to gain in that regard, if anything at all. In fact, if you buy the negative chatter surrounding Williams, returning to USC could only hurt his draft stock next year.
Sure, he can make a few million by staying at USC with NIL deals. And don’t get me wrong, a few million is life-changing money. But upwards of $30 million guaranteed as the top pick in the NFL Draft is once-in-a-lifetime money for a 22-year-old kid. It’s enough money that he would never have to play another football game or work another day in his life.
It’s a drastic difference, and no matter what his camp says about his remaining year of eligibility at USC, it’ll likely be the deciding factor.
