FalcFans Forums

DAMIAN WILLIAMS
6-1/191
Southern California Junior
40: 4.52

PROS: Has nice size, speed, and hands. Is a long strider that can make plays down the field. Is an effective blocker due to size and can use his body to shield away the defender on shorter routes. Hard to jam as well. Can be shifty after the catch with nice quickness. Does a nice job tracking the deep ball, and shows good body control, able to lay out for passes. Is a sure-handed punt returner.
CONS: Doesn't show great hands and concentration, body catching a bit too much and dropping some easy throws. Doesn't have great short-area burst to get separation and needs to improve his route-running. Tends to push off at times to get necesssary spacing. Isn't as physical as his size should merit and needs to do a better job positioning his body to make grab in traffic. After the catch, has a tendency to go east and west rather than north and south. Gives minimal effort as a blocker.
OVERVIEW: Williams has upside and has been the go-to target at USC the past two seasons. But he tends to be a finesse receiver that has the tools to succeed, but needs some work. Transferred from Arkansas after his freshman year. Caught 128 passes for 1879 yards (14.7 avg) and 15 scores the past two years working with Mark Sanchez and Matt Barkley. Averaged 14.2 yards this past year as a punt returner with 2 scores.
NFL FORECAST: He can make plays down the field, but lacks the short-area burst to get good separation and get a good release every time in order to stretch the defense. If he can improve his route-running and get stronger, then I think he stands a good chance of succeeding at the next level. And I think with the improvements there, he'll be a go-to receiver at the next level. He won't be a top No. 1 receiver, but can be a guy that can give you 60-70 catches each year. I think he'd be better as complementary receiver. But route-running is going to be critical to his success. Because he lacks the burst to get separation, and isn't physical enough to muscle his way through traffic if a corner is draped over him. So it's very possible he could be a bust at the next level like so many other Trojan receivers if he doesn't show the attention to detail to become a polished route-runner. And along those lines, I don't expect him to contribute a lot early in his career. He might be one of those players that goes like Roddy White and others and is a disappointment his first two years in the league. And he'll either get it in his third year or he won't and wash out of the league. If he plays with a polished veteran that can take him under his wing, then his chances of succeeding should be higher, but I'm sure the Panthers thought the same with Dwayne Jarrett playing with Steve Smith and Moose. In his case, I'm not sure it's a matter of having a good supporting cast around him, it's whether he himself wants it. He needs to be self motivated, and that's something you can only get in the interview process.
ATL FORECAST: Williams has the potential to be a better complementary receiver than Jenkins, although they are similar. But I think because Williams is a better runner after the catch than Jenkins, he'll be more consistent option for Ryan to go to. And while White would be a good role model for him to have here in Atlanta as he develops, I wouldn't expect him to impact earlier here than he would in any other NFL city. But three years from now he should be ready to replace Jenkins, or about to get cut.
VALUE: Because of the risk he could be another Jarrett, I would wait to draft Williams in the mid to late part of the second round.

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

SPEED: 3.5
HANDS: 3.5
BLOCKING: 2.5
BODY CONTROL: 3.5
RANGE: 3.5

Pros: Good size and speed for the position. Won’t burn NFL corners downfield but has speed to threaten defenses vertically. He has good hands and shows the ability to make catches with his hands away from his body and has the leaping ability and timing to high point the ball and make a tough catch away from his body. He also makes tough catches in traffic well and can take a hit and hold onto the ball. Has good quickness in and out of his breaks and is a good route runner and is very shifty after he gets the ball in his hands. This makes him a serious YAC threat and makes him dangerous as a punt returner.

Cons: Isn’t the most physical receiver and I haven’t seen how well he deals with jams or physical corners at the line of scrimmage. Will get in the way as a blocker, but doesn’t have any pop when he engages a defender and doesn’t have the strength or proper technique to sustain. He has good hands but he body catches very frequently and that will hurt him in the NFL. He has the hands to catch the ball away from his frame but he doesn’t, and that is something that he will need to work on to clean up in the NFL if he is going to have a successful NFL career. He is a good route runner but he could stand to improve. Doesn’t have elite speed for the position.

Overall: I really like Damian Williams as a prospect but he has some things he needs to work on before he will begin to realize what I think is #1 WR potential. He definitely needs to work on catching the ball away from his body consistently and not letting passes get into his pads when he can catch them with his hands. I think he has the hands to do it, he just has to work at it. It worries me putting my faith in yet another USC Trojan WR when I have been burned on Mike Williams and Dwayne Jarrett (though I knew Jarrett was lazy). I tend to believe that Damian Williams has a better work ethic than both of them, and if he does I think he will work hard to make catches away from his body and to improve his route running to help him become an effective NFL WR. But if he doesn’t have that work ethic he will end up like Mike Williams and Dwayne Jarrett, struggling to make an impact in an offense. I personally think Williams would be a #3 or #4 receiver at worst who can contribute to a NFL offense, just not consistently (similar to Williams and Jarrett, but not as bad). His ceiling is a very good #2 or potentially a #1 WR though. His best fit may be with a dominant WR where he could thrive as a #2, though I think he could be a quality #1. I don’t think he would be a Pro-Bowler as a #1, but I think he could be a good primary target in an offense like he was at USC.

Projection: I would draft him in the top 25, but I think he will end up going in the early-mid 2nd round, which fits for a guy who has some work to do as far as body-catching and if his ceiling is a good #2. I could see Seattle targeting him in the early 2nd round because of Carroll’s familiarity with him.

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

SPEED: 3.5
HANDS: 3.5
BLOCKING: 2.5
BODY CONTROL: 3.5
RANGE: 3.5

It's kind of freaky that we gave him the same numerical grades Pudge... I wanted to give him a 4.0 for hands but he body catches way too much.