By Scott Salomon
Over the weekend, Deion Sanders issued a statement to the Chicago Bears and other NFL teams, when he was on Mad Dog Sports Radio, that if they play in a cold weather city, they should stay away from USC quarterback Caleb Williams. Sanders said that since Williams is from the fun in the sun city of Los Angeles, he will not fare well in cold weather.
Despite the Prime warning, and much to my chagrin, the Bears are going to select Williams with the number one pick in next month’s National Football League draft in Detroit.
The horrendous trade that the Bears made in jettisoning Justin Fields to Pittsburgh is proof positive of the fact that they are going to turn over the reigns of the offense to the former Trojan signal caller. This is despite the fact that there are better players than him who are more justified in being selected first.
"If Caleb Williams doesn't work and he's a bust, that's on Caleb Williams."
— @ColinCowherd on Bears offense pic.twitter.com/kzyOUGvxVw
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) March 19, 2024
Sanders levies the strike against Williams, despite the fact that Williams played cold weather games in college and won the Heisman Trophy in doing so.
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“Let me tell you something that I have a problem with. This kid can flat-out play. I think he’s going to be one on the board this year for sure. A kid that’s coming from California for the last couple of years, right? And went to Oklahoma. That’s not terribly cold.”
“Chicago’s cold, man.”
Prime went on to say that playing in weather that one is not used to and has to be considered when you make an investment in a top pick. When you take someone first overall and have to pay premium money, you are placing the success or failure of the entire team in his hands. Williams will not only be playing for his own success but for the success of the head coach, general manager, and the scouts who all conspired to make the selection.
“You gotta think about that kind of stuff when you’re taking a young man. Like, see, when you take a guy from Ohio State and you bring him to Chicago, OK, I can understand that,” Sanders quipped. “But from California to Chicago? You gotta factor in that stuff. That stuff matters.”
Prime must have forgotten the fact that Williams, before committing to Oklahoma out of high school, grew up in the Washington, D.C. area. It’s not like the stork just dropped him in L.A. when he was born, and he was sheltered from the outside like a kid with asthma. He knows what it is like to be in cold climates and play football, too.
I cannot say that I think that Williams is the best quarterback in the draft, and I know that he is not that much better than Fields, who came on strong at the end of last season. The best quarterback, in my humble opinion, is Jayden Daniels from LSU.
I have gone on the record saying that Williams should not be picked by Chicago and that he is a prima donna and a diva. Chicago would have been better off keeping Fields and trading the pick to the New York Giants for their first-round selection at six and also gobble up the two second-round selections that they have in this season’s draft. The Giants would then go all in and draft Daniels, whom they really seem to covet.
If Chicago didn’t select Williams at one, he would fall out of the top spot, as teams that need a quarterback are going to go elsewhere first. He is not a franchise quarterback and will turn out to be a bust, as I predicted after listening to him and watching him perform at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis earlier this month.
If that trade was made, the Giants would take Daniels at one, Washington would take Drake Maye at two, or there is a possible reunion with Williams and Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who tutored him in college.
Despite what NFL Network Draft Analyst Daniel Jeremiah states, Chicago is doing Williams a disservice by drafting him with the intention of making him the starter from day one. They certainly hurt Fields, who has gone from a starter in a major market to a glorified clipboard holder in Pittsburgh.
The Bears should have kept Fields, traded the pick, and acquired more draft picks to get more talent for Fields to work with, as mentioned above. Ryan Poles made a series of mistakes here and is only picking Williams to put fans in the seats. This is a glitz pick. Poles is buying the sizzle and throwing away the steak.
Shedeur Sanders is who Prime needs to worry about in the cold
Speaking of cold weather, Prime went one step further. He issued a statement to the NFL clubs that cold weather teams need not draft his son Shedeur Sanders in next year’s draft. Apparently, Shedeur would prefer to play in a warmer, more moist climate.
Shedeur proclaimed before the combine that he would have been the first quarterback called in April had he come out. A bold statement for a kid who is playing “Daddy Ball” for one more year and escaped being in a draft class that features two Heisman Trophy winners (Williams and Daniels), a Heisman runner-up (Washington’s Michael Penix, Jr.), and a national championship quarterback (Michigan’s JJ McCarthy), who are all better than Shedeur and will go in the first round.
Let’s not forget Oregon’s Bo Nix, who had a tremendous off-season and will sneak into the first round. He could go as high as 12 to Denver. Spencer Rattler of South Carolina might also be drafted on the first night when the best 32 are selected.
Sanders, at best, would be the sixth or seventh quarterback off the board, and that equates to a second or third-round selection. If he really, in his heart of hearts, thought he was the best, why didn’t he declare for the draft and compete against the very best at the combine? The answer is simple. He’s not that good.
On the same radio show, Sanders reiterated the comments that his son needs to play in a warm weather city.
Deion Sanders doesn't want Shedeur Sanders playing in the cold when he goes to the NFL. Per NBC Sports pic.twitter.com/NRi4eiVZtp
— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) March 15, 2024
“Like, I don’t want my kid [Shedeur] going nowhere cold next year,” Sanders said. “He grew up in Texas. He played at Jackson (Mississippi) and played in Colorado. Season’s over before it gets cold in Colorado.”
“I’m just thinking way ahead. I don’t want that for him.”
What else does Daddy Sanders want? Should we make it two-hand touch for Shedeur so he does not get hurt? Perhaps we allow grounding from the pocket. Prime needs to shut his mouth, let the kid play, and let the chips fall where they may.
