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Height: 6’2
Weight: 251
College: Arkansas
40 Time: 4.60
Class: Senior
Stock:
Projected: 3rd-4th Round

Stats

2010 - 54 catches, 627 yards, 11.6 avg, 4 TD's
2009 – 32 catches, 411 yards, 12.8 avg, 3 TD’s
2008 – 61 catches, 723 yards, 11.9 avg, 3 TD’s
2007 – 5 catches, 94 yards, 18.8 avg, 0 TD’s

Overview:

D.J. Williams is one of the more athletic TE’s in this years draft. However, I wasn’t that impressed with his athletic ability. For a guy his size, he isn’t very quick out of his stance and he takes a while to reach full speed. He also appeared to have stiff hips and struggled to make crisp cuts on his routes. He is a decent blocker and gives good effort but his size will always limit him when going up against bigger and stronger players. He does bring versatility and he is a good pass catcher that can work the flats and run up field. He is not a guy that can be counted on as a TE’s security blanket and can make grabs over the middle and in traffic.

Scouting Report:

Positives

- Above average athlete for a TE
- Good top end speed
- Good hands
- Adjusts well to poorly thrown passes
- Can make people miss in the open field
- Will present some match up problems against slower defenders
- Solid blocker when he latches on
- Keeps his feet moving
- Does a good job of hitting people in space
- Plays with a good pad level and leverage
- Could line up as an H-Back, TE and even split out wide
- Productive

Negatives

- Undersized
- Lacks burst off the line
- Stiff hips
- Poor route runner
- Has to round off his routes because he can’t make quick cuts and maintain speed
- Not the type of TE that will give you a big target over the middle
- Won’t be a big target in the redzone because of his size
- Bends at the waist when blocking
- Struggles to stay engaged
- Tends to hold too much and will get called for penalties
- Will get overpowered by bigger and stronger players
- Will get beat by quicker LB’s and Safeties in space

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

Speed: 3.0
Hands: 3.5
Blocking: 2.5
Body Control: 3.5
Range: 2.5
Pro Potential: 3.0

D.J. WILLIAMS
6-2/236
Arkansas Senior
40: 4.60 (estimated)

PROS:

Has nice speed that can challenge downfield. Gets a nice release off the line and can get up to speed quickly. Has good, strong hands that does a good job extending for the ball and adjusting to most throws, whether high or low. Has good body control. Uses his body well to get position over the middle. Shows some ability after the catch, able to make some defenders miss and work well on the screen. Does a good job hitting his assignments as a lead blocker when working at fullback or H-back. Gives good effort as an inline blocker. Shows ability to get to second level and get the seal blocker and redirect the defender inside.

CONS:

Undersized and doesn't have ideal length to make all the grabs over the middle. Struggles to lock on at times as a blocker in space. Lacks pop when working as an inline or lead blocker out of the backfield. Won't get much push. Will whiff on some assignments.

OVERVIEW:

Led team in receptions this past year and was Ryan Mallett's second favorite target besides Greg Childs. A three-year starter that caught a combined 147 passes for 1761 yards (12.0 avg) and 10 touchdowns in those years. A high character guy that works hard and has good versatility to play inline, as an H-back, or fullback at the next level, as he played those roles in Arkansas' offense.

NFL FORECAST:

Williams reminds me a lot of Dallas Clark, in that he's a guy that is best fit as an H-back. But he offers versatility to line up in the backfield and be a lead blocker as well. And despite his lack of size, he's an effective inline blocker considering his size. But a team that wants to line him up inline won't be taking best advantage of his skills. Like Clark, he'll work best in an offense that will play him at H-back, use him in the backfield, but also use him just as much in the slot where his size and speed can create matchup issues. In an offense that will adapt to his skillset, he can be a very productive receiver catching 60-80 passes a year in most offenses, and a pass-heavy offense that uses a lot of 3 and 4-wide sets, he can be even more impactful. He should get better as a blocker with NFL coaching, but probably will never be the type of inline blocker where you would want him working in that role for more than 20 or so snaps a game. Even in an offense that doesn't best utilize him, he'll still be a 40-50 catch receiver, similar to someone like Dustin Keller.

ATL FORECAST:

Williams can be an excellent option for the Falcons passing attack. But he'll work best if he's not used inline as much for the Falcons, which means that the Falcons also have to find an inline blocker to work on their two-TE sets to play opposite him. He could work nicely as an H-back as a rookie behind Tony Gonzalez as a rookie, and shares many of the same intangibles and character traits that Gonzo has. Going forward, however the Falcons will have to adapt their offense to suit his strengths, which is playing in space, not as an inline tight end. They do that sometimes, but would have to do a lot more to maximize his receiving potential. In Atlanta, he'd probably be closer to a 50-catch guy, but would be a valuable option on third downs and in the redzone, just like Gonzalez.

VALUE:

For a team that is willing to use him like a Dallas Clark, then he is definitely worth a Top 50 pick, if not a late first rounder like Clark was in 2003. For a team that will use more as a situational H-back type, he's still a solid mid-second rounder.

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

Speed: 4.0
Hands: 4.0
Blocking: 3.0
Body Control: 4.0
Range: 4.0