Cornerback/Safety

Texas

6-0 204

Draft board overall prospect rank: #51

Draft board overall cornerback rank: #8

Overall rating: 77 (2^nd round)

40 time: 4.51

3/23/11: Scouts were very high on Aaron Williams going into the season, an athletic junior cornerback coming off of a strong sophomore season. I was higher on his teammate Curtis Brown and slotted Brown in the first round earlier this season. Unfortunately, it seems like we were both wrong. Brown and Williams are both likely 2^nd round picks after not living up to their potential last year.

I actually have Aaron Williams rated lower than Brown, though some disagree. Williams does have the ability to play safety in addition to cornerback, but I see Williams as a huge tweener. He’s have to bulk up about 10 pounds to play safety and he’s way too stiff to play cornerback effectively in the NFL right now. He’s very raw and needs a lot of work in mirroring and anticipating receivers’ routes. He’s slow in his backpedal and doesn’t change directions fluidly. He’s got good timed speed and good recovery speed, but he relies too much on his natural gifts to be an effective cornerback in the NFL right away.

He’s got good size and good leaps and plays the run well for a cornerback, but he doesn’t make enough plays on the ball. He’s probably best as a zone cornerback as he struggles in man to man. Teams will look at him as a safety. Several draftniks have slapped the Antrel Rolle comparison on him and I think that’s fair. As a much hyped cornerback out of Miami, Rolle was drafted 8^th overall by the Cardinals in 2005, but struggles at the position and 3 years later was moved to safety. He’s an above average safety now, but he was hardly worth the 8^th overall pick. Williams doesn’t have that same hype around him and will likely be taken in the 2^nd round, which is fitting for him, but his career could be very similar to Rolle’s.