As the 2024 NFL Draft grows increasingly closer, the Chicago Bears remain the overwhelming favorite to draft USC quarterback and 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams at No. 1 overall. Williams, for his part, is reportedly open to joining the Bears after speculation he could try to force his way to a different team, like Eli Manning did with the then-San Diego Chargers back in 2004.
But the father of one of the top prospects in the 2025 draft seemingly feels different about cold-weather cities like Chicago, where quarterbacks have traditionally struggled. Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, whose son Shedeur is the team’s starting quarterback and who is expected to be one of the top quarterbacks in next year’s draft, said in a recent interview with SiriusXM Radio he hopes Shedeur avoids such teams in the professional ranks.
“I don’t want my kid [Shedeur] going nowhere cold next year,” Sanders said, via ProFootballTalk. “He grew up in Texas. He played [at Jackson State], 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.”
To Sanders’ point, though winters do get plenty cold in Boulder, Colorado, the Buffaloes play their last home game there no later than Thanksgiving weekend, with any potential postseason games coming in either indoor stadiums or warmer climates.
That will change, but only slightly, during the 2024 implementation of the 12-team College Football Playoff, where first-round games will be played at the campuses of higher seeds in late December. Still, that pales in comparison to an NFL season, in which teams play into mid-January, cold weather or not.
However, it is worth noting that Tom Brady, the man widely regarded as the greatest NFL quarterback of all time — and a mentor to Shedeur — played most of his career for the cold-weather New England Patriots.
Sanders said he fears that Williams, who he saw up close in USC’s 48-41 win over Colorado last season, will face an uphill battle playing in a place like Chicago, at least geographically.
“[Williams] can flat-out play, I think he’s the best one on the board this year for sure,” Sanders said. “A kid that’s coming from California for the last couple years, right? And went to Oklahoma. That’s not terribly cold. Chicago’s cold, man. 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 could understand that. But from California to Chicago? … Come on, man. You gotta factor in that stuff. That stuff matters.”
Regardless, it appears Williams is destined for Chicago, barring a stunning turn of events between now and when the 2024 NFL Draft No. 1 overall pick’s name is called on April 24. It remains to be seen, however, how much power Deion and Shedeur Sanders will have over where the latter plays in the NFL.
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