QBs could go 1-2-3 in draft, although receiver Harrison could crash party
Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels arrived in Indianapolis as Heisman Trophy winners. Drake Maye is seeking to add to his family's impressive athletic legacy.
And the only player who might prevent those three talented quarterbacks from going 1-2-3 in this year's NFL draft appears to be All-America receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
On Friday, the four top prospects attended the league's scouting combine, and for the next eight weeks, they will be vying for the No. 1 spot.
“I think I've put in all the hard work, the time, the effort, the energy into being that. I don't think of a Plan B,” Williams said. “That's kind of how I do things in my life. I don't think of a Plan B, stay on Plan A. When things don't work out, I find a way to make a plan work.”
Williams has been favored to become the top pick almost from the moment he won the Heisman in 2022.
Now, however, there are nagging questions about Williams. He has heard concerns over his size, how he handled the team's struggles in 2023, his mentality, even some rumored contract demands.
Yet on Friday, instead of addressing those questions, he may have raised another issue. Williams, who had already said he wouldn't work out in Indy, surprisingly said he was also opting out of medical exams at the combine.
“Not 32 teams can draft me. There's only one of me,” Williams said. “The teams I go to for my visit, those teams will have the medical and that will be it.”
Harrison also has taken an unconventional approach to the draft. He did no combine-specific training and doesn't intend to work out in Indy or at Ohio State's Pro Day.
Could their decisions affect the top of the first round? Perhaps.
Chicago owns the No. 1 pick and has Justin Fields, once thought to be its quarterback of the future. There is speculation that the Bears would either take Williams and trade Fields or keep Fields and pair him with Harrison.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles said earlier this week he'd hopes to make a decision about Fields soon, but Williams' approach to the combine could result in a delay.
Washington and New England both have young quarterbacks who struggled last season. If those teams decide to start over, they could be choosing between Williams, Maye or Daniels.
Before Daniels' emergence last season, Maye had been regarded by many as the No. 2 quarterback in the draft class. STEELERS SUPER BOWL CHAMP RUSSELL DIES >> Andy Russell, the standout linebacker who was an integral part of the Pittsburgh Steelers' evolution from perennial losers to champions, has died. He was 82.
The team confirmed Russell's death on Saturday. There was no immediate word on the cause or place of death.
A 16th-round pick in the 1963 draft, Russell won two Super Bowls during a 12-year NFL career interrupted by a twoyear stint in the military. Russell spent 10 years as a team captain and was named to the Pro Bowl seven times.
His teammates voted Russell the club's Most Valuable Player in 1971, a season in which the roster included future Hall of Famers Joe Greene, Mel Blount, Jack Ham and Terry Bradshaw.