Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - How would Caleb Williams have fared if he was Patriots QB in Super Bowl?

Episode Date: February 9, 2026

Leila Rahimi, Marshall Harris and Mark Grote discussed imagined how Bears quarterback Caleb Williams would’ve fared in the Super Bowl against the Seahawks’ dominant defense if he had been playing quarterback for the Patriots.

Rahimi Harrison Grody, midday's 10 to 2 on 104 3, the score. Arms outstretched, four-man rush, here's the snap. He leaves up. He's a bumble to ball, and Seattle's recovered. He was hit. The ball crowbar free. It's a bumble by the Patriot quarterback, and Seattle is recovered at the 37 of New England.

First turnover of the game in Super Bowl 60. That's our friend Kevin Harlan on the call. Westwood won courtesy. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104-3, the score. Drake made it not have the best day in the Seahawks 29-13 win over the Patriots. The second-year quarterback had 295 yards passing a lot of that late in the game in the fourth quarter. Two touchdowns, two interceptions. He was sacked six times.

And yes, he also lost a fumble. So accountable for three turnovers total in the game. And we've talked about this. It's been one of the ongoing discussions in the NFL is Caleb Williams' quarterback draft class, the draft of 2024. And Bo Nix, a part of it, the book, you know, that Seth Wicker-Sham wrote,

American Kings, the quarterback book, that centers around the discussion with Bo Nix. Caleb Williams, for example, big part of that story. Drake May is also a part of that draft. And while Drake May was getting MVP votes, I don't think that we here felt like we had to compare the two as much because it seemingly felt like all's well that ends well. But I do want to ask this question.

We ask it of you as well. 312, 644, 67-67. If Caleb Williams were playing quarterback for the Patriots, I'm pretty sure he would have had a better Super Bowl performance than Drake May. What do you think? I think this is super hypothetical, but I tend to agree with you, Lela. Here's why. Caleb Williams has shown the ability to have a spark and to make ridiculous throws.

While you can argue Drake May is more consistent because of that passing percentage that's over 70% for the season, you can in the same breath say, but he doesn't make the type of plays that Caleb Williams has been able to make. And we saw that only grow and trend in the right direction towards the tail end of the season and directly into the playoffs. That's the reason why they almost were able to beat the Rams in advance to the NFC championship game because of Caleb Williams making ridiculous plays. And when you bring pressure, he tends to make the most out of those opportunities. And I think his line would have held up better as well. Now, I will also say this before I want to get your opinion, Mark, is that May did say he received a pain-killing injection for that right-throwing shoulder before the game last night.

So that is also to be considered as well. I was actually watching the game. I was thinking of Caleb, not because of this question necessarily, but because I was thinking, oh, he is going to pull Caleb Williams because there were games where Caleb Williams was not a factor for two plus quarters, sometimes three quarters in a game, especially early on this year. And when Drake May makes that, when it's 19-0 in the fourth quarter, and Drake May makes the 24-yard pass to Mack Hollins ahead of the Holland. Collins T.D., which only made it 19 to 7 at the time, I thought, oh, wow, okay. He's going to pick it up here. And then, and then there's the part where the Julian Love interception comes, where on that drive, twice. Drake May, almost as if he knew he had to throw the ball downfield and he did it blindly,

twice. He should have been intercepted twice on the Julian Love drive. So that's where it departed. So that's where it departed for me. and if Caleb Williams is in at that time, once Caleb Williams got going, even if he was bad for a half or three quarters, he didn't stop in the fourth quarter. Drake May started to be good and that was bad. So my answer is yes, Caleb Williams would have been better,

especially late in the game than Drake May for those specific reasons. Well, and that's how I feel is that given the comeback element of what Caleb does, you know, the fact that there were seven fourth quarter comebacks that he led for the team, almost eight, let's face it, almost eight, if it hadn't been for the last one. There is that element of, yeah, maybe he throws one of the similar interceptions where he's trying to force something late over the middle. Okay, yeah, I could see, fair's fair, you know, guys throw that interception. Quarterbacks in the league will throw that when they're down and they're trying to make something happen and they're coming from behind. But everything else, like, I think the scrambling, Drake may had a lot of like up the middle type of runs,

but I don't necessarily know that he would have been able to throw all. on the run like Caleb Williams can't. He needed spectacular. Like Drake May, we debate like who's, and Drake May has the edge right now in Caleb Williams, probably, right, on the overall as a quarterback. But Drake May still can't do the spectacular things, make the spectacular throws to the same level that Caleb Williams can't. Like he needed, they needed desperate spectacular last night and didn't get it.

That's exactly what Caleb Williams provided. bears last year. No matter what you want to say about his season, Caleb made spectacular throws in the fourth quarter and May couldn't pull it off. I don't know that I'm ready to say that Drake May has this edge on Caleb Williams in the same way that you just said it. Maybe we're talking about two different things though. So when you say he's got that, you're just saying the MVP runner up in the league. Completion percentage was clearly in May's favor. In the overall, if you pull the NFL right now, if they did a ranking of that draft class, Drake May in general would be ahead of Caleb Williams? Would he not? Here's my question.

If we redrafted right now, would you take Caleb Williams or would you take Drake May? I would still take Caleb Williams over Drake May. I think I would too, just because the sky is the limit, for lack of better phrase. Whereas with somebody like Drake May, you can see the ceiling. I don't see the ceiling yet for Caleb Williams. And that doesn't mean he's going to be elite or great for the next 10 years, but it does mean that there is a lot of potential still with Caleb. Yeah, I think that the issue lies in what you guys are talking about.

Right now, one quarterback's forte, more than a. another in Caleb Williams is the outstanding play, the play that is the outlier. What you needed yesterday. Very rare quarterbacks can make. And yes, you do need a lot of that to win you a Super Bowl, especially against one of the best defenses in the league. Where I think there's room for improvement is something that I think a lot of quarterbacks can improve, which is plays in structure. So if the mundane is the issue more so than the spectacular, I'm pretty sure that coaches can help you get to the mundane. You know, that's the

thing. It's that the thing that seems to be fixable or easily understanding why the bridge would be there is that it's incredibly possible that a lot of the stuff that we would like to see him get back. If he makes two more of those throws in a game that are the mundane or the easier ones, or I don't know, let's go back to the obvious, the bear's receiving court catches the ball better. Yeah. Then, you know, Caleb Williams is still my guy over May. Now, did May throw some dimes, you know, or at least try to with that shoulder. Yeah, you can see why the deep ball accuracy is there. Neither one of those quarterbacks yesterday

were afraid to throw a deep ball into double coverage. Neither is Caleb Williams. But when it comes to the idea of being chased out of your pocket, you know, if they're going to attack left tackle like they did yesterday, I like Caleb Williams' chances better than Drake Mays. I just wonder because maybe this is where my in-town stupid comes into bias, like centers up. I feel like Caleb Williams

with that skill position set is very different than Caleb Williams with the particular skill position players he has here. I think there are guys yeah there are guys on the Patriots with there's Stefan Diggs

and obviously Matt Collins showed you what he could do yesterday but I feel like he has better weapons in Chicago and so maybe he wouldn't have fared as well with that group of skill players in New England. I mean look at the leading receivers yesterday like this is again

understanding how good the Seattle defense is. It was Mack Hollins with 78 yards, four catches. DeMario Douglas, Ramandre Stevenson, before Stefan Diggs, who had 37 yards receiving, Hunter Henry, Trevionn Henderson, Kishon Booney with 21, Austin Hooper, and then Kyle Williams. So, CX had a defined plan when it came to making Drake may have to go to different receivers than as usual,

trying to get to checkdowns. all those things I feel like Caleb Williams has a handle on, enough to where I would have trusted him in that game. Yeah, I think, so to answer your question, I think we can agree. We all believe Caleb Williams would have played better in that game yesterday. Again, the only question I have in my mind is a fully healthy, Drake, man. I know you don't get to have him fully healthy, but without having to get his shoulder shot up, does that make a difference in this conversation that we're happening?

Or do we just believe that the Seahawks defensive pressure is so, stout that it wouldn't have made that much of a difference in the performance of one Drake May. I mean, it's a great question. I feel like nobody really wants to think about the possibility that Drake May was playing hurt. But he was. We know he was playing hurt. It is, but at the same time, that's why I was saying, like, if you're flushed out of the pocket, because he was sacked six times in this game, yeah, then I like Caleb on the run. That's why I, that's my thought. He did have that one May that burst up the middle where it was like, oh, you're going to give me the middle of the field right now for whatever it was, 30 yards?

And it probably feels like he could have done that more often. Based on what he had done just in previous playoff games this season. And I thought as the game, yeah, as the game went on and you weren't getting anywhere with your explosive passes or anything, yeah, he should have looked to take off more. And maybe that is, maybe that is where the injury part came in, that he was in his own head. I mean, I thought he looked hesitant all night. Yeah, and I feel you on that. I think there was a lot going on when it came to the aspect of balancing an injury with balancing

how to play against the Seahawks defense and it's the Super Bowl. There's a lot there to have to figure out at one time. Great point made by 630 on the text line. Caleb probably Caleb wouldn't have been sack six times. He's got that elite escape ability and probably takes better care of the football, which is a good part why his completion percentage is lower. Turn on the film. Caleb, yeah, we don't need to turn the film.

We saw it. Caleb is a superstar. We understand the superstar potential there. But yeah, I don't think he gets sacks six times. That's it for me. Yeah, he doesn't, he's running out of that pocket. Especially the pick six at the end with Ocena Nuosi. That is one that, that was a Justin Fields special right there where Fields never saw the defenders.

It was like a horror film watching. It's like, no, that guy's coming for you. Caleb feels that. Caleb's got the Spidey Sun. He feels that, yes. There was a lot of that going on in the game. yesterday. Debbie Witherspoon was coming in, unchecked on the right side.

They didn't even try. They didn't even attempt to slide protection. And how many times have we talked about that? That's QB's job. You know, there was a lot of that going on where there are some unchecked rushers. We're watching it. It's like, no, they're going to get it. That reminded me of Justin Fields.

Is that the Jaws music or is that the law and order? Good question. I was going for Jaws there because of the, you know, the linebackers coming. Terror in the water? Yeah. Blood in the water. folks coming to get you. This note being posted today on Twitter, by the way, by Ben Zelensky.

He's a statehouse reporter with Capitol News, Illinois. Nugget from Governor Prisker. We're in consistent, consistent conversation with the Chicago Bears. There's a real possibility that many of the things we put on the table are the things they're willing to do to stay in the state. He adds he doesn't take their indie move as a bluff. Is that leverage? Do you hear about some leverage?

This is from Ben Zelensky. He's a reporter with Capitol News, Illinois. But who is he talking? He's quoting Governor Pritzker. Okay. Pritzker, we could probably turn around that sound. I just saw it online. Interesting interesting.

There's an event going on this Wednesday night, little pep rally, if you will, in I believe Arlington Heights in terms of put a little pressure on the state to wake up and go along with some infrastructure plans. So that is coming soon too. They said that they would be willing to pony up a billion dollars. That's not nothing.

That is not nothing. I mean, but it is the, this Indiana thing has awakened Illinois a little bit, but more to come this week. 6.30, when did Drake get hurt? We do not know. That was just the report I read on ESPN from Mike Rice was that May said he received an injection for his right throwing shoulder before the game last night. Coming up next here on Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043, the score. one major aspect of the Super Bowl we have not gotten to yet are the commercials

Mark Grady has some thoughts he of the comedy school I have some thoughts putting pressure on me now yeah Marshall Harris always has a thought so I want to hear what he has to say about it congratulations you do you're always good for an opinion you're always good for a thought whether it's right or wrong I've got a thought

don't we all put that in the promo Marshall Harris good for a thought Do you know what that was? That was sister messing with brother being like, Neat. I've been prodded and posed. You've been prodded.

Yeah. Okay.