Team will scrutinize all QBs at combine

Falcons would have to trade up to get any of the top 3 prospects.

FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons don’t plan to close any doors while evaluating quarterbacks at the NFL Scouting Combine, which started Monday with players arriving and will run through March 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Addressing the quarterback position is an offseason priority for the Falcons, GM Terry Fontenot has said. The Falcons hold the eighth overall pick in the draft. If they want the top-rated quarterback, USC’s Caleb Williams, they will have to trade up with the Bears.

Williams is widely considered the best quarterback scheduled to attend the combine. He will be heavily scrutinized as the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in the draft, set for April 25-27 in Detroit.

“It’s a good quarterback draft,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. “Caleb to me is a top guy.”

Williams, who was listed at 6-foot-1 and 219 pounds in college, is considered a generational talent by some.

“If we’re just looking at pure talent, you can put him up there with really any of the guys we’ve had just in terms of arm strength, athleticism, the creativity that he has and the playmaking ability that he has,” Jeremiah said.

Williams, however, has some issues with extending plays unnecessarily. “He is not as clean or as polished as some guys we have had over the last few years,” Jeremiah said. “I think there’s still some more growth and some cleaning up to do with Caleb’s game, but talentwise it’s pretty special.”

Some draft analysts are going as far as comparing Williams to Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

“Look, you don’t want to compare somebody to the best player on the planet, but just in terms