Just three weeks into the NFL season, and it’s already looking like the winless Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos could be in position to grab the No. 1 overall pick.
The prize in next year’s draft is reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, who’s off to another hot start this season with the USC Trojans (1,200 yards, 15 touchdowns and zero interceptions) in the team’s 4-0 start.
After USC dismantles Coach Prime’s Colorado Buffs on Saturday, Williams’ name will be hotter than fish grease, and the talk around NFL circles will be which team is going to play badly enough to nab the top pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
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In fact, Williams is the odds-on favorite to become just the second two-time winner of the award, where he’d join former Ohio State running back Archie Griffin, who won it in 1974 and 1975.
As the Bears and Broncos get set to do battle on Sunday in Chicago, some pundits are dubbing this matchup as the “Tank for Caleb” sweepstakes.
Three games aren’t a huge sample size, but when you watch the Bears there just isn’t much there to make you believe they can turn things around.
QB Justin Fields looks as if he’s regressed, and they’re devoid of talent on both sides of the football. As for the Broncos, it seems their roster was greatly overvalued, and their defense is downright atrocious, having given up 105 points the past two weeks, including 70 in last Sunday’s 70-20 loss to the Dolphins.
While these two teams will likely have some competition for that top pick, right now they look like the two worst teams in the league. Tanking for Caleb, if teams intends to do so, could also blow up in their faces if the true junior opts to not turn pro after this season.
Caleb’s dad, Carl, is on record saying he doesn’t want his son going to certain franchises, and there’s no doubt Chicago is one of them. When you consider how they’ve mishandled and underdeveloped the aforementioned Fields and also never had a 4,000-yard passer in franchise history, no way should Carl Williams be OK with his son going there.
Speaking on “Undisputed,” Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin offered his take on the Bears situation.
“This is why Caleb’s dad wants to be careful where his son goes,” the Dallas Cowboys legend said. “You have to make sure he’s surrounded by coaches that can bring him along right.”
As for going to the Broncos, that isn’t perfect, but having Sean Payton as the coach helps matters. Some believe the Payton and Russell Wilson dynamic isn’t going to last, although Russ has been among the more efficient quarterbacks in the league.
Payton Once Said Williams Will Beget Draft Lottery
Last December during an appearance on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” Payton, then an NFL analyst with Fox, told the FS1 host this about Williams.
“I think he’s a generational player,” Payton said. “At some point, especially with the relationship our league has in gaming now, we’re going to move to a lottery system in the NFL. This is a player that possibly does that.”
We shall see if Williams does declare for the draft, but right now he’s got a marquee matchup awaiting in Boulder versus Coach Prime and the Colorado Buffaloes and their Heisman candidate, Shedeur Sanders.
