Cam Newton reacts to pre-draft criticism of Caleb Williams’ style, ‘unique’ personality

It’s been 13 years since Cam Newton became the top player selected in the NFL Draft. And he can’t help but notice the similarities he shares with Caleb Williams, who likely will top tonight’s first round.

You can apply the word “unique” to both quarterbacks, then and now. But Newton says let that uniqueness be. It has nothing to do with the NFL Draft or playing football.

Newton appeared on Good Morning Football on the NFL Network bright and early for a draft day. Co-host Kyle Brandt posed the question to Newton about Williams, the former USC star and 2022 Heisman Trophy winner.

“There’s these bizarre questions, Cam, about his personality, his image,” Brandt told Newton. “I remember when you were coming out, the term fake smile was being thrown around. (It) was just this term in the media that Cam Newton had a fake smile. Caleb paints his nails. He’s different. Someone compared him to Prince. What does that make you feel like when you hear that and you relate, of course.”

Newton, who was wearing one of his signature-style hats, sat back and assessed.

“Being unique, we can’t be hypocrites in America. You can’t promote, you know, land of the free and then all of a sudden when somebody does something that makes them unique, you crucify him, right? I think really for us in this profession that we’re in, Gen Z is here. And they’re here to stay. So whatever a person does personally, should just matter, personally.

“If it starts bleeding into their plate, then that’s when you can care. But as I’m seeing these highlights of Caleb Williams … pink nails, red nails, the green nails, no nails. If you can play football and you can win football games in that locker room ,and for that franchise, nothing else matters.”