NFL draft analyst on USC football QB Caleb Williams: 'He's not special'

It was a disappointing season for USC football in 2023. A lot of things went wrong and it led to a lackluster season for the Trojans despite having Caleb Williams back at quarterback.

Williams was the Heisman Trophy winner after the 2022 season, but even though the Trojans didn't win as many games in 2023, his numbers were still off the charts.

The USC football quarterback completed 68.6 percent of his passes. He also threw 30 touchdown passes compared to just five interceptions. He also ran for 11 touchdowns. Caleb Williams ran for 27 in his career and many assume that the Chicago Bears will tap him as the No. 1 overall pick in April's NFL draft.

Chicago went 7-10 this season. Justin Fields, a former first-round draft pick, also started to make some progress. Some thought he made progress to remain as the starter and you can count former Pittsburgh Steelers player turned NFL analyst, Merrill Hoge among them.

In an interview with NBC Sports Chicago, Hoge, who was a long-time analyst for ESPN on the NFL matchup show, said, "He is not special. He is not Patrick Mahomes, not remotely close to that."

It's a bold statement to make but Hoge was right about Johnny Manziel when he said that he shouldn't be drafted within the first three rounds of the draft. However, no one bats 1,000 when it comes to the NFL draft. Williams is a talented kid and maybe he isn't Patrick Mahomes, but I have a hard time seeing him not going No. 1 whether it's to Chicago or otherwise.

The pre-draft process is long though and there is a lot that can happen between now and the draft.