How Caleb Williams to Vikings with Justin Jefferson as WR could solve Minnesota's Kirk Cousins replacement woes
The Minnesota Vikings are having an awful season, and Caleb Williams could be the answer to turn around their luck next season. Currently, the Midwest team is 1-4 and Kirk Cousins is looking like a washed-out veteran. Cousins, who just turned 35 this August, is looking like the wrong quarterback for a franchise that is looking for a long-term rebuild.
His passing has actually been arguably better than his career average, boasting a 101.7 passer rating this season as opposed to his career rating of 98. However, many have started calling for the veteran to be traded. And therein lies the point, Kirk Cousins could still be really useful for the right NFL team and would be a worthy asset for the Vikings to get younger players in return.
Minnesota is about to face the 1-4 Chicago Bears next week, and after that, they face the vaunted San Francisco 49ers. By that point, they need to decide if they will compete this season or give up and work on their rebuild. If they do so, in the quintessential American sports strategy, they would enter the race for the first overall pick.
If they do so, the Vikings would need to replace Cousins which is where Caleb Williams would enter. At the moment, there aren't many better quarterbacks available at the college level and it is fairly certain that the USC Trojans star will declare for the 2024 NFL Draft.
Almost as importantly, Caleb Williams has been rumored to be actively monitoring the race for the first overall draft pick, and according to reports, his decision to declare could be shaped by the reliability of receiving targets. That would mean, that if the Vikings have any desire to get Williams, they would need to rest their star receiver Justin Jefferson, and not rush his recovery in a vain attempt to compete.
Justin Jefferson was placed on the IR after he suffered a hamstring injury in Saturday's loss to the Chiefs. So far he had recorded 571 receiving yards with three touchdowns in 36 receptions.
What would the Vikings be getting in Caleb Williams?
Caleb Williams is a Heisman-winning quarterback, who over two and a half seasons has recorded 8,052 passing yards, with 84 touchdown passes and only 10 interceptions. Williams is a dual-threat quarterback with 907 yards in the ground game and 19 rushing touchdowns. His passer rating is at an excellent 176.9.
He started his college career as an Oklahoma Sooner, where midway through the season he took the starting job. He had a signature win against Texas that season, helping the Sooners to a 55-48 comeback win in the Red River Showdown. He also won the Alamo Bowl against Oregon. In just seven games as a starter, he had 1,912 passing yards with 21 touchdown passes and four interceptions.
From there, Caleb Williams went to USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 2022. He started all 14 games of the season and recorded 4,537 passing yards, with 42 touchdown passes and five interceptions.
This year, he has led a USC offense that has scored 40 or more points in every game of the season so far. In six games so far, he has had 1,822 passing yards with 22 touchdowns and just one interception. If the Vikings do end their season for Caleb Williams, they would be getting the real deal.