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Since going No. 1 overall to the Chicago Bears in 2024, Caleb Williams has been a walking highlight in the NFL. Now, the dynamic playmaker brings that signature flair to the virtual world as the cover athlete for Madden NFL 27.
Colin Cowherd believes that Williams deserving the spot as the cover athlete for Madden NFL 27 shows just how unique a talent he truly is. At 24, Williams is the third-youngest player to land the cover, behind only Michael Vick (2004) and Lamar Jackson, who was 23 after his unanimous NFL MVP season in 2019.
“He’s got the cover of Madden for the Chicago Bears and is the first ever to be awarded that title,” Cowherd said. “I still think about Caleb [Williams] is unique and rare. He’s still the No. 1 underrated quarterback.”
Cowherd has an interesting theory about why Williams remains nationally underrated, even after earning the rare honor of being a cover athlete.
“Here’s my theory about it,” Cowherd said. “If you go and look at the No. 1 quarterbacks: Trevor Lawrence, Andrew Luck, Joe Burrow, Matt Stafford, Peyton Manning, they’re very traditional and Caleb is not.”
Cowherd believes Williams challenges the mold of what fans typically expect from a franchise quarterback. His personality, style and improvisational playing ability have made him one of the more polarizing young stars in the league.
“From painting the nails to only [being] 6-foot-1, he’s incredible off the platform,” Cowherd said. “Sometimes I think he’s better on the platform than in the pocket. He was the first NIL star, first Gen Z quarterback.”
The argument centers on the idea that Williams’ individuality is often viewed differently in sports than in other forms of entertainment, where uniqueness is more openly embraced.
“He’s a non-traditional quarterback, and I think that uniqueness is celebrated in music, art or film,” Cowherd said. “Pink Floyd celebrated, the Beatles celebrated, Stanley Kubrick, the director, celebrated. That’s not how sports work. Sports are ordered by positions and wins.”
Williams is coming off a 12-5 season in which he threw 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions while leading the Bears to seven wins in the fourth quarter or overtime. Still, some skepticism remains, given his career completion percentage of 60.3 and a 5-12 record in his rookie year.
Cowherd believes that no matter how successful Williams becomes, quarterback status in today’s game is ultimately defined by wins and team success.
“I think in the sports industry, to be different, you better be successful because people will push back,” Cowherd said. “[If] you get a Super Bowl, you get a parade; that’s about as crazy as we get.”
Still, Cowherd believes Williams’ unique style of play puts him in rare company among the league’s most talented quarterbacks. In fact, he even puts him in the same category as Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
“I think this season, and I said this at the end of last year, I’m not sure outside of Josh Allen if anyone has his talent in the NFL to play the position,” Cowherd said. “I think two quarterbacks in this league have more horsepower than every other quarterback. Allen and Caleb.”
The league has a reputation for taking longer to fully appreciate quarterbacks who don’t fit the traditional mold. Cowherd didn’t hold back his praise, going so far as to place Williams in a rare category as a top-five quarterback in the sport.
“I don’t think so [Patrick] Mahomes totally has that level of horsepower so I think right now [Caleb] is a top-five quarterback in the league, but he’s so different. He had a bad first year, and because he plays an unconventional style of quarterback, we struggle with that in sports.”
