Former Pro Bowl OT latest to sound Caleb Williams alarms

Free-agent offensive tackle and three-time Pro Bowl selection Taylor Lewan is the latest noteworthy member of the NFL community to voice concerns about USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams. 

"One guy that, this is up for everybody else to interpret, but I did not get a good vibe from Caleb Williams throughout the combine process," Lewan said during a recent episode of his "Bussin' With The Boys" podcast, per Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post. "I know, a lot of backlash for the boy. He essentially came to the combine for the free gear and the interviews." 

Williams did not complete any medical evaluations at the combine but reportedly will visit the Chicago Bears "shortly after" USC’s March 20 pro day. NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated revealed that Williams impressed individuals within the Bears organization during a formal interview last week. 

Chicago is widely expected to make Williams the first pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. 

"Only player in combine history not to do a medical review," Lewan continued while speaking about Williams. "Only dude [who] didn’t run, didn’t throw. His choosing not to throw was, 'Hey there’s a lot of film on me, you can watch that in real action. I don’t need to do that.' So he essentially went there and then I think he did one thing about sour gummies, like him and some lady sat there and tried sour candy."

Retired player and current NFL analyst Merril Hoge generated headlines when he said he believed Williams was "not special." After the combine, former quarterback and current analyst Ryan Leaf shared that he thinks Williams needs to sit throughout his rookie season.  

ESPN personality Dan Orlovsky, a retired signal-caller, has repeatedly ranked LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels ahead of Williams in rookie power rankings. 

"It’s incredible how talented he is, but he’s got this type of 'I’m better than everyone' attitude that it’s coming off of," Lewan added about Williams. "Now if that’s not the individual he is, he’s more than welcome to come on the bus [the podcast] and explain himself, but what I saw from the short sample size I got of watching a few interviews of him on my way to the combine was, [the] guy is very full of himself. He’s got some big-time yes people in his camp right now that are getting in his ear a little too much."

Such opinions likely won't matter, as nearly every mock draft updated weekly lists Williams going to the Bears via the first overall pick.