It’s not often you see such a massive ripple effect caused by an offensive coordinator candidate weighing his job prospects, but Kliff Kingsbury’s decision to pull away from the Las Vegas Raiders and insert himself squarely in the running for the Washington Commanders’ vacancy is a huge deal.
Kingsbury not only served as the Arizona Cardinals’ head coach for a time, but he was just at USC as an offensive assistant with Caleb Williams, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback who’s the prohibitive favorite to go No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
It just so happens that the Commanders hold the second overall pick. They have the chance to sacrifice a premium asset, move up one spot, and earn the right to select Williams rather than another potential franchise QB like UNC’s Drake Maye or the latest Heisman winner, Jayden Daniels of LSU. With apologies and all due respect to Jim Harbaugh, I can’t include J.J. McCarthy in that conversation as of now.
Many fancy Williams as a generational prospect, and Kingsbury has said that the seemingly unrealistic comparisons to Patrick Mahomes aren’t far off.
It was Kingsbury who oversaw Mahomes’ development in college at Texas Tech. I’d say he’s qualified to weigh in on the matter.
As an NFL Draft fanatic, the three QBs I’ve had the most conviction on in my life are as follows: 1) Patrick Mahomes; 2) Joe Burrow; 3) Anthony Richardson. I can claim witnesses for the first two dudes; my takes on Richardson are all over the Internet.
Caleb Williams would be right up there, but I struggle a little bit with how often he plays off-schedule. It’s gotten almost comical at this point how he bails out of plays to extend them with his legs and tries to play hero ball. That’s not dissimilar to what Mahomes had to do at Texas Tech while his defense kept getting gashed, yet with Williams, he has a confidence that borders on arrogance more so than, say, Joe Burrow. I don’t mean that as on-field hubris. Rather, a personality trait. Bit of a red flag.
With those reservations aside, Williams’ arm talent is not in question. He can make any throw, off any platform, and he can layer the ball with touch when he wants to. If Williams can just play within the structure of an NFL offense more often, he has all the tools to be a superstar.
Since Kingsbury has such strong conviction having worked with him firsthand, and since the Commanders have a new ownership group who won’t shy away from taking big swings, I could see them collaborating on a move to sacrifice a valuable pick and/or player to move up from No. 2 to No. 1 to draft Williams. Then, he could hit the ground running in the pros, because Kingsbury would know exactly how to build an offense to fit his strengths.
You may deem it reckless to speculate on this Williams to Washington scenario. I’m not the only one who’s connecting these dots in real time.
For whatever drawbacks I see from Williams as a prospect, if he joined the NFC East, I feel like he’d be the best QB in the division by his second season, if not sooner. The young man’s talent runs circles around Dak Prescott, Daniel Jones and even Jalen Hurts. When it comes to the rest of the top prospects, I can’t really say that about them with any conviction — other than maybe Jayden Daniels because of his blend of electrifying speed and downfield accuracy.
Williams was born in Washington, D.C. That makes his landing with the Commanders all the more appealing. Chicago has never successfully developed a franchise QB in my lifetime, with the latest example being Justin Fields. I feel like the Commies could make the Bears a massive offer to move up one spot and get it done.
I legitimately can’t believe how Williams can create enough torque, square his shoulders, and throw the ball so accurately and consistently on the move. Watching him operate a Kingsbury Air Raid-inspired passing attack would be incredible. Hiring Kingsbury as OC is the first step to really thicken the plot.
