Taking On Tacklers
As has already been described, Williams doesn’t have the size to run over defenders on a consistent basis, but he is able to use his balance to shrug off tacklers who aren’t able to wrap up effectively. The other way in which he is able to add yardage to what is blocked to him is the ability to make defenders miss in space, flashing the lateral agility to sidestep tacklers without losing momentum:
But he does occasionally appear to be a bit hesitant in using this agility; committing early to a particular path and in so doing, failing to make the most of his mobility advantage:
Williams frequently showed the ability to make defenders miss in space, but could do with taking even greater advantage of his ability in this area.
The Passing Game
Let’s get this out the way early, Williams isn’t a good blocker. He lacks technique and sometimes awareness, using him in this way would not be wise:
Now, let’s get on to the thing that Williams does do well – catching the ball coming out of the backfield. It is certainly true that some of Williams’ catch production was inflated by Gardner Minshew’s habit of throwing the ball to him out of desperation, leading to pretty meaningless receptions such as the following:
But it is also true that this habit of taking a worryingly long time to progress through to the flat made it harder for Williams to gain yards after the catch, allowing defenders to close on him, a fact that was not lost on Williams by the looks of the following play:
What Williams has shown, however, is a consistent ability to not only catch the ball, but to get downhill quickly and navigate through traffic to consistently turn checkdowns into positive gains:
With the hands to make catches away from his frame:
While Williams wasn’t asked to run a huge variety of routes at Washington State, he showed a good understanding of how those routes got him open, such as on the following play where, having sat down underneath against zone, when the pass isn’t forthcoming, he moves away from the defender to keep the underneath option open – thereby allowing for the eventual checkdown:
As well as the change of direction to be a threat as a route runner:
And, as has already been shown here, the speed to separate vertically against linebackers. Williams isn’t the receiver coming out of college that Christian McCaffrey was – one can make a strong argument that there has never been as polished a route runner at the running back position coming out of college as McCaffrey – but in this class, Williams is as close to that as any player not named Josh Jacobs.
If the Panthers do want to find a #2 RB who can replicate as much of what McCaffrey can do as possible, Williams is likely their best bet. It would be a surprise if Williams ever developed into something more than a rotational running back, but for a team that is so dependent on having a running back who can catch the ball out of the backfield, his value is far from insignificant.
Grade: High Third Round
Best-Case NFL Comparison: James White
