What it might take for the Vikings to get USC QB Caleb Williams
With Kirk Cousins heading into the final year of his contract, many believe the Vikings will select a quarterback in next year's NFL Draft. But with the Vikings projected to be a decent team and not picking super high in the draft, finding a franchise savior may be easier said than done.
That could lead to the Vikings being aggressive and making a deal toward the top of the draft where USC's Caleb Williams could be their main target. Fans can dream that the reigning Heisman winner and 2023 Heisman frontrunner will be getable, right?
Williams is widely regarded as the top prospect in next year's draft thanks to a breakout season at USC. After splitting time with Spencer Rattler as a true freshman at Oklahoma, Williams followed head coach Lincoln Riley and immediately became the starter for the Trojans, completing 66.6% of his passes for 4,537 yards, 42 touchdowns and five interceptions.
The overall stats led Williams to become USC's first Heisman Trophy winner since Reggie Bush in 2005 (later vacated due to NCAA violations), but it's his playmaking ability and skill set that has scouts drooling over his potential.
The first thing that stands out is Williams's arm, which has the ability to make every throw in the playbook. While Lincoln Riley predicates his offense on short throws, Williams averaged 10.3 air yards per attempt which gave his receivers – such as Vikings first-round pick Jordan Addison – opportunities to create yards after the catch.
Williams also has shown an ability to run through his reads and execute run-pass options (RPO) that can increase the efficiency in the running game. While he only ran for 382 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Trojans last season, he has the legs to extend plays to find open receivers downfield or scramble and turn broken plays into solid gains on the ground.
There are times when Williams tries to do too much, but it's something that can be coached out of him, which is why he's almost a lock to go first in next year's draft.
At first glance, the Vikings landing Williams is something that is probably reserved for a Madden franchise. The Vikings are coming off a 13-win season and while they've lost some pieces, they have a young core and a stable quarterback that should at least give them a floor of seven wins.
Even if the Vikings have the worst-case scenario on the field, they'll probably be picking in the early teens. That would seemingly eliminate them from taking Williams, but the front office has shown a willingness to go after their quarterback.
The 2023 draft is proof of this as the Vikings were linked to every quarterback from C.J. Stroud to Hendon Hooker. There was even a report after the draft that the Vikings had tried to trade up for Bryce Young, who went first overall to the Carolina Panthers.
A perfect scenario for the Vikings to trade up would be if a bad team that already has a quarterback lands the No. 1 overall pick. This situation played out last offseason when the Chicago Bears decided to keep Justin Fields instead of drafting Young but even though the Panthers traded up to the top spot, it wasn't cheap.
The Bears received the Panthers' first-round (No. 9 overall) and second-round (No. 61 overall) selections in this year's draft along with a 2024 first-round pick, 2025 second-round pick and wide receiver D.J. Moore in the trade.
Even if a team like the Arizona Cardinals – who signed Kyler Murray to a five-year $230.5 million extension last summer and owns Houston's first-round pick next year – landed in the top spot, it's hard to come up with what the Vikings could give to move up to get Williams.
The Vikings' first-round picks in 2024 and 2025 would certainly have to be involved to make a deal happen and the Vikings only own two picks in the first two days of next year's draft. Even if they shuffle some of the secondary picks to 2025, they still need something to match the value of an established player.
Could Danielle Hunter be part of that trade? Would the Vikings add more draft picks? How much additional capital would be needed if they didn't include a player? These are all questions that need to be answered.
Even if they sapped their draft capital with the deal, they could find a way to make it work. If Williams lives up to the hype, the Vikings would have him on a rookie contract, which would free up plenty of cap space to extend key players on the roster and add talent in free agency.
This could allow the Vikings to build around Williams and give them a quarterback of the future. It's an outcome that is extremely unlikely but also one Minnesota could consider next offseason.
