After breaking out in his lone Alabama season, Jameson Williams encountered a significant hurdle to close his junior year. The ACL tear Williams suffered in the national championship game damaged his pre-draft stock, but it appears to be rebounding. Williams is now expected to be taken in the top 10, Chris Mortensen of ESPN said recently (h/t Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP.com; Twitter link). ESPN ranks Williams as its No. 4 wideout prospect, at No. 19 overall, behind ex-Ohio State teammates Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave and USC’s Drake London. When available in 2021, the slender Crimson Tide wideout showed game-breaking speed in a monster statistical season. The 6-foot-1 transfer get totaled 1,572 yards (19.9 per catch) and 15 touchdowns. That total surpasses other first-round Tide wideout draftees like Julio Jones, Jerry Jeudy and Jaylen Waddle‘s final-season production at the SEC powerhouse. ACL tears are obviously not the deterrents they once were, and teams eyeing Williams through a long-range lens would make sense.
Here is the latest from the draft:
- In what would seemingly be a meet-and-greet, as opposed to something indicating a potential draft choice, the Colts scheduled a Malik Willis visit, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (video link). Indianapolis traded its 2022 first-round pick to Philadelphia for Carson Wentz last year and acquired Matt Ryan to be its starter for at least the next two seasons. Willis would profile as a developmental prospect behind Ryan, but the Colts not having a pick until No. 42 makes a partnership unrealistic. The Liberty prospect has visited the Falcons and Panthers, and the Steelers have been linked to the Group of 5 passing prospect as well. The Colts could acquire another potential Ryan heir apparent in Round 2, but they make more sense as a QB suitor in 2023.
- The Texans have another veteran stable of running backs, having added Marlon Mack to a group that includes Rex Burkhead and Royce Freeman, but the rebuilding team could use younger talent here. Iowa State’s Breece Hall is viewed by some as this draft’s top back, and he visited the Texans on Wednesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. After its two first-round picks, Houston holds the No. 37 overall selection. That would be the most logical window for Hall to become a Texan, barring a trade. The Bills, Commanders and Giants have also met with Hall.
- Losing Chandler Jones in free agency after seeing J.J. Watt battle more major injury trouble, the Cardinals could use pass-rushing help. They met with a first-round talent recently, hosting Purdue defensive end George Karlaftis, Pelissero tweets. The 266-pound rusher did not post eye-popping stats (14 sacks in three seasons) but is viewed as a solid all-around prospect, whom NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah compares to fellow ex-Boilermaker Ryan Kerrigan.
- Russell Wilson‘s Denver arrival ensured the Broncos do not hold a draft choice until No. 64, but they are meeting with a higher-end tackle prospect. Tulsa’s Tyler Smith visited the Broncos recently, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. The Broncos signed Billy Turner and Tom Compton; one is likely to become Denver’s 10th Week 1 right tackle in 10 years. But the team has long needed a young answer at this position. Smith rates as Jeremiah’s No. 41 overall prospect but sits 58th on ESPN’s big board.
I would love to see the jets draft Williams at 10.
Great another pick Keim can take and then play out of position. Sign JJ for a ton and let Reddick and then Chandler Jones walk?? I guess we all knew JJ wouldn’t get hurt. NOT
Texans should trade back from both #3 and #13
Dallas is looking to trade up
#13 for #24 (1st), #88 (3rd), and #129 (4th) and future 3rd in 2023 and future 4th in 2024
Trade #3 to the Jets for #10, #69, #111 and future 3rd in 2023 and future 4th in 2024. Give the Jets #3 and #4 plus their 2nds.
Then trade #10 to Green Bay or KC to get their pick of WR. Get one of the 1sts and 2nds in the deal.
Texans should trade back and acquire as many draft assets as you possibly can for 2023 2024 and build around Mills in 2022. Oline. WR. TE. Maybe a mid round rb.
The Dallas one and the Jets one make no sense. What are the Jets trading up for in this scenario? And why are the Cowboys paying four other picks to move from 24 to 13? Trades have to make some sense for both sides–at least since Bill O’Brien got fired.
I dunno, the Packers traded up for Jordan Love after O’Brien was fired…
For all the flack that the Broncos for being a veritable QB turnstyle, their hole at RT has been present for almost as long. The production has been adequate at best for some time there, and miserable at worst. Compton and Turner are certainly not going to solve that issue. Whatever Denver does in the draft, getting a new tackle would be a great piece to have on an otherwise pretty solid offense.
.Compton was extremely serviceable for the 49ers last season at RT after Big Mike went down. Even still, while he really excelled in run blocking, Compton was definitely subpar when it came to his pass blocking.
Also, with that being said, I don’t think having someone like Compton as your RT will be quite as bad for Wilson,,He’s just going to run around for 3-6 seconds and fling the ball from one side of the field to another..lol All jokes aside though, I really don’t think it is a coincidence that the Broncos spotty Plat at QB has also coincided with their spotty play along their OL, especially from the RT position
Lucky for the Broncos though, this would be the perfect draft.to get a prospect like J. Salyer from UGA in the late 3 to early 4th Round. He was an excellent and sound protector for the Dawgs at LT the last two seasons, and he was among the top Tackles when it came to the amount sacks he allowed.
Plus, with Salyer, the Broncos would also be getting an OL prospect that has already displayed the ability to play at either tackle, guard, or even at Center all at a high level against elite, top-tier talented DL and Edge prospects. Actually, there will be at least almost a handful of DL/Edge prospects that Salyer has shutout that will be picked before him.
Salyer does concern some scouts due to his “shorter” arms, but if you put on his tape Salyer’s Gator arms sure do get the job done time after time, snap after snap. He likely projects best as either a RT, Guard, or Center, but rest assured wherever Salyer is put, he’s locking down his OL spot for the foreseeable future.
Oh sure, I have nothing against Compton as a player, but he’s not a long term solution at tackle. He’s 32 and has been a backup or spot starter for most of his career, and has had mixed results. Sometimes okay, sometimes not. The 9ers’ scheme also helps a lot of linemen’s blocking stats, if they’re able to move and cover their zone effectively of course. That’s not to discount Compton’s play on its own, but depending on how Hackett decides to run his offense next year, the Broncos’ run game may ask Compton to do much different work.
Turner should have familiarity with Hackett’s coaching, but if what Hackett said about adapting the scheme to Wilson was true, it may be different than he did in Green Bay. Even so, Turner had mixed results too. I don’t think he’s terrible, but he often was the weakest link on a mostly young line that shifted positions around him. He’s older as well, but does have experience, so there’s that.
I don’t mean that both will be horrendous, but neither Compton nor Turner will solve that RT issue for the future in the long term. Signing them wasn’t an awful idea in the absence of a defined starter, but Denver should draft someone behind them. One big thing they’ll have to consider is Wilson himself. He tends to hold the ball a lot and moves behind the line, which can lead to holding calls on the linemen. I expect the entire line to decline in some fashion statiscally, but as long as they can give Wilson time and avoid penalties, they seem to be an upgrade on the whole as compared to Seattle’s.
Russell Wilson is going to need some quality O-line protection this year, as he’s gotten slower and fatter over the last couple of years.