Things got interesting when the Washington Commanders hired Kliff Kingsbury as their new offensive coordinator. Many felt this was the first legitimate signal that the organization would try to make a play for quarterback Caleb Williams. Kingsbury has had a relationship with him since their time at USC together. His offense is a perfect fit for what the young quarterback does well. The obstacle in the way of this plan is, of course, the Chicago Bears. They hold the #1 pick in the draft, and most insiders have gotten strong indications they are prepared to take Williams. As Ian Rapoport put it, only a “historic” offer might convince them otherwise.
Washington has put out whispers that they aren’t so desperate to make such a move. They are comfortable taking one of the other top quarterbacks if necessary. However, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network added a layer of intrigue when he revealed that one of the team’s new owners is spearheading the organization’s makeover. Magic Johnson, a minority owner, was the one who heavily recruited Kingsbury to Washington. He did this by making a notable promise to the young coordinator.
He said that he and the Commanders would do everything in their power to get him the quarterback he wanted.
It sounds like they’re prepared to make a run at Caleb Williams.
Every indicator is that many around the league view him as the best quarterback in this class, and it’s not close. Not only that but there are concerns about the 2025 class next year being considerably weaker. So if you’re going to get your quarterback, you better get him now. That is why the price tag for the #1 pick is projected to be so high. It comes down to how much the Commanders are willing to pay for moving up one spot. New GM Adam Peters might not be wild about the idea. He was in San Francisco when they moved up for Trey Lance in 2021. That was a total disaster.
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Based on this update, it might be out of his hands. Johnson is an owner, and owners have the final say in everything. He already has a reputation for being aggressive in pursuit of potential star power from his work with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It isn’t a shock to see him bringing the same mentality to Washington. If Johnson feels Caleb Williams is what the organization needs, he will put on a full-court press to convince the Bears to make a deal. Whether Poles is swayed by any offers remains to be seen.
Everyone in the league views Williams as the best QB and it’s not even close….really? You mean the same kind of people that said Trubustsky was a Top 10 pick and that the 2021 QB class was well above average and we all know how accurately those predictions turned out to be. Williams does not have the production or even close to the production that Jayden Daniels had in 2023. Williams went 0-4 against the best 4 teams he played in 2023 (UCLA, Washington, Oregon, Utah) and he threw 5 TDs combined against these teams out of his 30 TDs… Read more »
Trade the 1st pick to the highest bidder, draft a DE, Bowers, and get a center, and safety, and more depth.
I hope Magic drives the deal and they end up offering the Godfather trade and the Bears end up set for this year and the next couple. Then I hope they grab MHJ and enjoy watching Megatron 2.0 dominate the NFC North for the next 10 years. MHJ, Moore and Kmet would be formidable and force defenses to choose who to double & limit blitzes
@Slip Knotz We’ll probably never know what kind of offers Poles got for #1 unless he actually accepts one, but that said, I think I’m more confident than you are about him receiving them. Trading up can work, but I can’t remember any trade that included the kind of draft capital it takes to move up to the top actually working out for the team that moved up. The QB never lives up to the hype and it always seems to set the team making the deal back, but that never seems to stop multiple desperate GM’s from trying it.… Read more »
@Arnie that’s a good point about Maye’s fit and some flexibility for the Skins. It’s also possible that maybe Kingsbury is tired of working with Fields and wouldn’t mind starting fresh. I don’t think many teams want to trade with Poles this year for fear of looking like Carolina did last year. I think some teams will be leery of Poles. And Maye played 27 games vs the 30 recommended at each level. So I think it’s close enough to the normal sample size that it won’t stop Maye from going high. I’ll add that the experience level of some… Read more »