Williams, idle in Indy, ready for draft’s top teams
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
INDIANAPOLIS — Former USC quarterback Caleb Williams deeply admires Michael Jordan and Walter Payton, loves deep-dish pizza and told ESPN he would be “excited” if the Chicago Bears take him No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL draft.
Entering the NFL combine, Williams is the favorite to be the top pick in April. In his first public comments since declaring for the draft in January, Williams spoke in depth about the Bears, unveiled his combine plan and reflected on a journey to the NFL that is nearing a culmination.
“This is what I’ve been preparing for my whole life,” Williams told ESPN by phone Tuesday. “Since I was 10 or 11, this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. At that age until now, it basically feels like your whole life.
“I’m excited. I’m ready to get back on a football team around my teammates and my brothers — my new brothers now.”
Where those new teammates are located remains one of the most intriguing questions surrounding the draft.
Williams spent much of the interview with ESPN discussing the Bears, whom he has long been linked to given they hold the No. 1 pick.
“If I get drafted by the Bears, I’ll be excited,” he said. “If they trade the pick, and I get drafted by someone else, I’m just as excited. Speaking about Chicago, they have a talented team, a talented offense and defense. For anyone to be in that situation, I think they’d be excited.”
Williams pushed back on any notion that he would request a trade or wants to play elsewhere.
“I’m not pushing any agenda,” Williams said. “At the end of the day, the Bears have the last say. Regardless of how I feel, I’m not pushing an agenda of, ‘Yeah, I want to go. Or no, I don’t want to go.’ I’m excited for whatever comes.”
Williams said he is eager for his “first date” with Chicago, with a meeting planned in Indianapolis this week, and stressed the importance of the first impression.
He said he was intrigued to hear about the Bears’ plans and learn what the organization is like and the vision moving forward. Chicago hasn’t won a playoff game since 2010 and has just two winning seasons since.
“Just the constant growth and change, that’s important whether you are a quarterback or wide receiver or a general manager or an owner or an organization,” Williams said of what he’s looking for. “Just a healthy situation — in the facility, with the players — and just a place that really wants to win.”
Williams said he has been to Chicago once, has heard good things about the rowdiness of Bears fans, and has gone down video rabbit holes studying both Jordan and Payton, two of the city’s most iconic athletes.
“I’m 22. I didn’t really get to see those players,” Williams said. “As the saying goes, the legends live on. That’s my goal of playing football — it’s not money, it’s not fame … it’s to be immortal. I want to reach that sense of being a legend. Being at the table … and having a rightful seat through hard work and energy and time I’ve put into this game that we all love.
“It’s appealing to be in a city like that. With legends that you’ve looked up to … reach for the standard they set and try to do anything to get there.”
Williams’ next most speculated destination is the Washington Commanders, who have the No. 2 pick. That union would mark a return home for Williams, who grew up in the area and attended Gonzaga College High School in Washington.
“It’d be really cool because it’s so familiar,” he said. “There’s a time and place for everything. My job and my hobby is being at the facility or on the field or watching film. Or relaxing and prepping for the next day or game.
“My main goal and focus … is to go win games and stay focused on keeping the main goal the main goal.”
Williams said he is not going to work out at the combine but will throw at USC’s pro day on March 20. He is also not planning to do medical testing at the combine but will do that in his individual visits with teams.
He is not planning to sign with an NFL agent, saying he has a “whole team” of attorneys and advisers to handle contracts and endorsements.
“Everyone thinks I’m a one-man team,” Williams said, referencing the symphony of work that makes an F1 team go. “That’s just not the case.”
He is planning to meet with the media in Indianapolis.
“I want everyone to hear me and get a feel for who I am … so they’re not throwing things out there that are false or that isn’t coming from me,” Williams said.
What should they expect to hear?
“Being able to see who I am as a person and my heart and love for football and winning games,” Williams said. “That’s what I think they’ll get from it, and my intensity about being on a team and going out there and kicking ass with my new brothers. That’s what I’m excited about. That’s who I am.”
Williams finished his three-year college career — one season at Oklahoma and two at USC — with 93 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions. He threw for 10,082 yards, ran for 966 more and compiled 27 rushing touchdowns.
Since USC’s season ended, Williams said he worked out in Los Angeles to stay in shape and, early on, did a lot of mental work to prepare for the NFL. (He also took a quick vacation to Tokyo, where he enjoyed food that was “out of this world,” highlighted by Wagyu steak. “I’m not even a red meat kind of guy,” he said.)
The early mental work included studying defenses, fronts, blitzes, coverages and protections and communicating plays in the huddle. Williams said in college he rarely huddled but pointed out he was in charge of communicating the play, as opposed to schools that look to the sideline for plays.
More recently, he has been working out in Florida with noted quarterback trainer Will Hewlett, who trains Brock Purdy and others, and performance coach Tom Gormely. Other players Williams is working out with include Mason Rudolph, Emory Jones and Nate Peterman.
Asked specifically what he was focusing on in workouts, Williams said basically everything.
“We’re shooting for the stars and trying to nitpick the small things,” he said. “They become big things in a long season. There’s nothing really that we’re not working on. … I am a perfectionist, and I want to be perfect. In reality you can’t.”
When asked whether he had more nerves or excitement about the upcoming weeks, Williams again mentioned how much he was looking forward to having a team to build a rapport with.
“It’s not anxiousness or anything like that,” he said. “I can’t wait to say my first cadence. Regardless of how good or bad, with me switching up the playcall, messing up or not messing it up in practice. Whatever the case may be. I can’t wait for that moment, that minicamp moment.”
It’s 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby day in Atlanta!
Some of the most dynamic home run hitters in baseball will be taking aim at the Truist Park stands on Monday (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) in one of the most anticipated events of the summer.
While the prospect of a back-to-back champion is out of the picture — 2024 winner Teoscar Hernandez is not a part of this year’s field — a number of exciting stars will be taking the field, including Atlanta’s own Matt Olson, who replaced Ronald Acuna Jr. just three days before the event. Will Olson make a run in front of his home crowd? Will Cal Raleigh show off the power that led to 38 home runs in the first half? Or will one of the younger participants take the title?
We have your one-stop shop for everything Derby related, from predictions to live updates once we get underway to analysis and takeaways at the night’s end.
MLB Home Run Derby field
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners (38 home runs in 2025)
James Wood, Washington Nationals (24)
Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays (23)
Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins (21)
Brent Rooker, Athletics (20)
Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves (17)
Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees (17)
Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates (16)
Live updates
Who is going to win the Derby and who will be the runner-up?
Jeff Passan: Raleigh. His swing is perfect for the Derby: He leads MLB this season in both pull percentage and fly ball percentage, so it’s not as if he needs to recalibrate it to succeed. He has also become a prolific hitter from the right side this season — 16 home runs in 102 at-bats — and his ability to switch between right- and left-handed pitching offers a potential advantage. No switch-hitter (or catcher for that matter) has won a Home Run Derby. The Big Dumper is primed to be the first, beating Buxton in the finals.
Alden Gonzalez: Cruz. He might be wildly inconsistent at this point in his career, but he is perfect for the Derby — young enough to possess the stamina required for a taxing event that could become exhausting in the Atlanta heat; left-handed, in a ballpark where the ball carries out better to right field; and, most importantly, capable of hitting balls at incomprehensible velocities. Raleigh will put on a good show from both sides of the plate but will come in second.
Buster Olney: Olson. He is effectively pinch-hitting for Acuna, and because he received word in the past 72 hours of his participation, he hasn’t had the practice rounds that the other competitors have been going through. But he’s the only person in this group who has done the Derby before, which means he has experienced the accelerated pace, adrenaline and push of the crowd.
His pitcher, Eddie Perez, knows something about performing in a full stadium in Atlanta. And, as Olson acknowledged in a conversation Sunday, the park generally favors left-handed hitters because of the larger distances that right-handed hitters must cover in left field.
Jesse Rogers: Olson. Home-field advantage will mean something this year as hitting in 90-plus degree heat and humidity will be an extra challenge in Atlanta. Olson understands that and can pace himself accordingly. Plus, he was a late addition. He has got nothing to lose. He’ll outlast the young bucks in the field. And I’m not putting Raleigh any lower than second — his first half screams that he’ll be in the finals against Olson.
Jorge Castillo: Wood. His mammoth power isn’t disputed — he can jack baseballs to all fields. But the slight defect in his power package is that he doesn’t hit the ball in the air nearly as often as a typical slugger. Wood ranks 126th out of 155 qualified hitters across the majors in fly ball percentage. And he still has swatted 24 home runs this season. So, in an event where he’s going to do everything he can to lift baseballs, hitting fly balls won’t be an issue, and Wood is going to show off that gigantic power en route to a victory over Cruz in the finals.
Who will hit the longest home run of the night — and how far?
Passan: Cruz hits the ball harder than anyone in baseball history. He’s the choice here, at 493 feet.
Gonzalez: If you exclude the Coors Field version, there have been just six Statcast-era Derby home runs that have traveled 497-plus feet. They were compiled by two men: Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. James Wood — all 6-foot-7, 234 pounds of him — will become the third.
Olney: James Wood has the easy Stanton- and Judge-type power, and he will clear the Chophouse with the longest homer. Let’s say 497 feet.
Rogers: Hopefully he doesn’t injure himself doing it, but Buxton will break out his massive strength and crush a ball at least 505 feet. I don’t see him advancing far in the event, but for one swing, he’ll own the night.
Castillo: Cruz hits baseballs hard and far. He’ll crush a few bombs, and one will reach an even 500 feet.
Who is the one slugger fans will know much better after the Derby?
Passan: Buxton capped his first half with a cycle on Saturday, and he’ll carry that into the Derby, where he will remind the world why he was baseball’s No. 1 prospect in 2015. Buxton’s talent has never been in question, just his health. And with his body feeling right, he has the opportunity to put on a show fans won’t soon forget.
Olney: Caminero isn’t a big name and wasn’t a high-end prospect like Wood was earlier in his career. Just 3½ years ago, Caminero was dealt to the Rays by the Cleveland Guardians in a relatively minor November trade for pitcher Tobias Myers. But since then, he has refined his ability to cover inside pitches and is blossoming this year into a player with ridiculous power. He won’t win the Derby, but he’ll open some eyes.
What’s the one moment we’ll all be talking about long after this Derby ends?
Gonzalez: The incredible distances and velocities that will be reached, particularly by Wood, Cruz, Caminero, Raleigh and Buxton. The hot, humid weather at Truist Park will only aid the mind-blowing power that will be on display Monday night.
Rogers: The exhaustion on the hitter’s faces, swinging for home run after home run in the heat and humidity of Hot-lanta!
Castillo: Cruz’s 500-foot blast and a bunch of other lasers he hits in the first two rounds before running out of gas in the finals.
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