An in depth and complete scouting report and draft prospect profile of Miami Linebacker James Williams for the NFL Draft.
Prospect: James Williams
School: Miami
Age: 20 (21 on Draft Day)
James Williams Measurables:
- Height: 6’4” (NFL Combine)
- Weight: 231 (NFL Combine)
- 40: 4.65 (NFL Combine)
- 10 Yard Split: 1.59 (NFL Combine)
- Vertical Jump: 30” (NFL Combine)
- Broad Jump: 9’9” (NFL Combine)
- Other Notes:
- Measured in 1” shorter and 16 lbs heavier than ESPN had listed
- Only note we made during the Combine was that Williams is definitely getting moved to backer
Tape Watched: Clemson, UNC, Senior Bowl(Linebacker)
Prospect Grade: 56% with upside
Projected Draft Day: Rounds 3-4
Player Comparison: Shaq (Thompson with some of O’Neil’s Height)
Best Team Fits: Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams
James Williams Player Summary:
As a Safety
The Positives
- Can be super disruptive when he chooses to use his length and size to his advantage
- Very raw
The Negatives
- Plays smaller than he is
- Kind of passive in the box against the run
- Looks like he avoids hitting when he can
- Looks lost at times playing single high
Side Note:
- Frame could use filling out. Kind of thin and lengthy
As a Linebacker
Positives
- Shows patience with reading the backfield
- Uses length to keep blockers off his body
- For the senior bowl being his first LB reps, his reads are ridiculously impressive
Negatives
- Spot dropper
- Still doesn’t truly understand LB drops yet
- Glued to QBs eyes
- Causes drifting in zone coverage
- Has the size to match-up TEs, but man coverage is pretty underwhelming
- Pattern recognition in man is subpar
James Williams is an extremely underwhelming prospect in this year’s class. Williams has size for a DB that you can not coach, and for that reason a team will take a chance on him earlier than he should go. He has the one thing you can not coach; the problem is he doesn’t always use the size he has, he plays smaller than he is. When he plays to his size though he can be super disruptive. Williams to us is not going to be a safety at the next level. He’ll be some sort of nickel defender, probably some sort of sub package linebacker is our guess.
Updated 4/18/24: Our original scout of Williams is right in that we mentioned a move to LB. After watching William’s Senior Bowl film at linebacker we are super comfortable moving him from Nickel to Linebacker rankings. While watching the Senior Bowl tape, I had to text Zach immediately because I was astonished by William’s first LB tape. The ability to make his reads and his patience with backfield/play development is ridiculously impressive. When someone changes positions you expect a bit of uneasiness and jumping the gun too quickly, but Williams looked like at least a semi-seasoned pro. He finally looked like he was playing to his size, using his length to keep blockers off his body. Unfortunately due to the lack of experience he’s still a spot dropper, and doesn’t truly understand LB drops yet. His eyes are also glued to the QBs eyes which causes him to drift a bit in zone coverage. As for man coverage he is pretty underwhelming with pattern recognition being the biggest of the issues. We think with some time to develop the sky’s the limit.
Updated 4/18/24:
- Combine numbers and notes added to measurable portion of profile
- Grade switched from “43%” to “56% with upside”
- Projection switched from “Day 3” to “Rounds 3-4”
- Comp switched from “Lower end JL Skinner” to “Shaq (Thompson with some of O’Neil’s Height)”
- “Minnesota Vikings, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams” added to Best Team Fits