You have zero knowledge of guitar if you think that. You just liked some Clapton songs and you heard people claim he was awesome for decades. That isnt proof of his ability. Every generation is better than the last. This goes for all sports, and musical instruments, dancers, actors, etc. Every generation is better than the last because, they learn from the previous generation and then improve on it.
Here is a great example for you, if you care to actually engage. Here is Jimmy Hendrix playing Voodoo Chile...
Now listen to the kid that Hendrix inspired to become even better at it...
The difference between those two performances is STAGGERING. SRV doesnt fuck up a single note, his string bends are WAAAAAYYYY the fuck more accurate and he just generally plays cleaner all around. His technique is flawless and not only that, he is improvising the entire performance. He has never played any song the same way twice. He always improvises on the spot.
I have no intention of arguing against SRV. He was one of the greats. But you were not there when Hendrix hit the scene, so you have no idea as to his impact. I was there and can speak from experience, not some shit I saw on YouTube.