Caleb Williams begins the NFL draft process in a unique position as the consensus top prospect available, giving him a level of power that most prospects don’t have. The former USC quarterback is already using his status in the draft to determine the kind of draft process he undergoes at the NFL scouting combine.
Williams explained that he won’t be doing medical testing at the combine for all 32 teams like every other prospect. Instead, he will undergo medical testing at his private meetings with interested teams.
“I’ll be doing the medical stuff, just not here in Indy,” Williams said, via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “I'll be doing it at the team interviews. Not 32 teams can draft me. There's only one of me. So the teams that I go to for my visit, those teams will have the medical and that’ll be it.”
Williams also decided not to throw at the combine, a decision that other top quarterbacks Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels also made. However, Williams’s choice to limit who gets his medical testing is a decision that can only be made by a prospect that is far-and-away the favorite to go with the No. 1 pick.
While Williams should be the top pick, it is still unclear which team will get him as the Chicago Bears could trade the pick to another team and stick with quarterback Justin Fields. Williams is expected to meet with eight teams at the combine, including the Bears, and those are the teams that will probably get access to his medicals in the process.