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MARSHALL WILLIAMS
6-1/188
Wake Forest Senior
40: 4.56

PROS:

Has nice hands and shows decent ball skills, able to stretch for the ball. Has body control and can avoid the big hit. Shows some speed and burst with the ability to separate and make plays after the catch.

CONS:

Undersized and it shows when working against press coverage. Not very physical and not likely to make a lot of plays in traffic.

OVERVIEW:

Williams is a pretty good receiver playing in a bad team. Wake Forest had atrocious QB play during his senior year, and thus he saw his production drop from his junior year (60-867-14.5-6 to 24-272-11.3-2). They used him quite a bit on reverse passes, as well, completing 5 of 6 for 174 yards and 2 scores during his career. He has enough quickness to think he might be able to translate that to the return game, although he was never used there at Wake Forest.

NFL FORECAST:

Williams is a guy that will have to play in the slot at the next level. He has nice speed and quickness, but lacks the size and skills to be a reliable threat on the outside. The hope is that he is a guy that can work in a spread system, find soft spots in the zone and help move the chains. But his ability to stick in the pros will largely depend on his ability to perform on special teams. He's relatively untested as a return man, although I think he does offer some potential there. But it's highly doubtful he's going to come in his rookie camp and win a job there. So he'll have to perform on coverage. He's probably a longshot to make a big impact in the pros, and probably at best is a 20-catch No. 4 receiver down the road. But he has decent tools for a team looking for a poor man's Harry Douglas. Unless he finds that niche on special teams, he's probably a guy that will be out of the league within three years, but if he does, he might be able to extend his career a few more years.

ATL FORECAST:

Williams is a camp body for the Falcons that could push for the No. 5 spot but unless he does a good job on special teams, he's not much of a threat to win that job or even a practice squad position. There's nothing about him that pops enough to think he can separate himself above other practice squad candidates.

VALUE:

Williams has comparable talent to some guys that will be drafted in the seventh round, but he's not a good bet to make an NFL roster and lacks upside to be anything more than a reserve, making him an undrafted candidate.

SKILLS
1-poor, 2-weak, 3-above average, 4-very good, 5-elite

Speed: 3.0
Hands: 3.0
After Catch: 2.5
Body Control: 2.5
Range: 2.5