Everybody loves comparing Caleb Williams to Patrick Mahomes. It makes sense. The crazy out-of-the-pocket plays he made in college were a near spot-on impersonation of the Kansas City Chiefs superstar. However, the Chicago Bears quarterback has been quick to correct people about that. While he has the utmost respect for Mahomes, he isn’t the one Williams works hard to emulate. That would be Aaron Rodgers. The former Green Bay Packers legend and future Hall of Famer was somebody he idolized growing up.
Tom Brady might be the G.O.A.T, but Rodgers was the player Williams felt did things no other quarterback could. As his own football career started taking flight in high school and college, Williams worked hard to incorporate parts of Rodgers’ style into his own game. He spoke to Matt Spiegel and Mark Grote on 670 The Score about what he seeks. Williams stated that a few things with Rodgers stood out. His playmaking ability out of the pocket was a big one. Then, there were two other assets.
One was his accuracy, and another was his ball spin.
Even casual fans understood just by watching every Sunday. However, if the former Heisman winner wanted to carve his own path to greatness, he needed to learn the details. Rodgers once explained to ESPN one of the secrets behind his incredible success as a deep-ball thrower. People automatically assume it stemmed from his considerable arm strength. He shot that down immediately. Arm strength importance is one of the biggest misconceptions about deep throws. Touch and spin are where you find the most success.
“Touch is more important than arm strength. You want to really allow the receiver to run underneath the throw. It’ll give you a little margin for error if you undershoot it a bit. You want the point of the ball to come down, because if you put enough on it and spin it enough, it’s going to be very catchable.”
If you watch Caleb Williams, he has a similar approach. He never tries to throw the ball on a rope to his receivers on deep shots. He makes sure to put proper loft on them, spinning it to give the receivers a chance to make the play. His bomb to Tyler Scott in the second preseason game is a great example. The trajectory of the arc allowed the receiver time to run under it. If the defender hadn’t interfered, it would’ve hit Scott in stride. There is no telling how far Williams will go in his career. Yet one thing is clear. Choosing to model your game after Rodgers is never a bad idea.
