Cactus Jack wrote:wco81 wrote:That's how Bush, Leinart, Darnold, Mike Williams, etc. all got drafted high.
Pac 10 can produce some good defensive players but the defenses are bad.
What they put on film against mostly Pac 10 opponents is very exaggerated.
Even when SC was under Carroll and they won some big out of conference games, those players could never come close to replicating their performance in the NFL.
Leinart & Darnold are both not nearly as talented as Caleb Williams. You can watch 5 minutes of film & come to that conclusion.
Darnold was not that impressive his senior year. He got taken by the Jets early. But he was always an overrated prospect who struggled with turnovers.
Mike Williams didn't produce as a pro because he was lazy. He had weight issues & thus didn't last very long.
Fwiw Carson Palmer had a long & very good career.
Not saying Caleb won't be a good player but if he's building his rep on second reaction plays, that's not something to rely on at the NFL level.
Yes Mahomes and Allen give the lie to that idea but those players are at the top of the league.
I did hear Sean Payton say that he thinks Caleb is a generational player and that teams will all want him in the 2024 draft and may tank for him, causing the NFL to adopt a draft lottery.
Lamar can make second reaction plays all day long and he has some huge games. But he hasn't seen playoffs success yet and he's not doing that all game long.
I saw a graphic of the QBs who are pressured or hit every few drop backs. I forget the list but Allen was like second and Mahomes was in the top 5.
But when you look at times sacked, times hit, times blitzed, Allen and Mahomes are in the top 5 or 10. Obviously they make a lot of plays, even when blitzed, pressured or hurried.
It just shows defenses won't allow these guys a lot of time, even if it compromises their coverage.
Maybe Caleb will produce like those elite QBs. I notice he's smaller than Mahomes and definitely smaller than Allen, so he may not be able to withstand the punishment if he tries to scramble.
Russell Wilson is also up there in the number of sacks, hits, pressures, times blitzed. He's about the same weight as Caleb but being shorter, he's thicker so maybe better able to endure the punishment.
Actually a good comparison might be Luck, who took a ton of punishment holding the ball for big plays downfield. He lifted the Colts for awhile but evidently he got beat up and quit the game.
