Wide Receiver 

Syracuse

6-1 221

40 time: 4.49

Draft board overall prospect rank: #187

Draft board wide receiver rank: #21

Overall rating: 55*

                10/22/09: I gave Williams a fairly good grade on my last big board, but that will change on my next edition. Before, I talk about Williams’ attributes and his skills, I am going to take about his character issues because I think those will be more important to NFL scouts. Williams started as the best prospect on the Syracuse football team. He jumped onto the scene right away as a freshman he led the team with 461 receiving yards and followed that amazing freshman year with an even better sophomore year, in which he had a school record 60 catches for 837 yards and 10 touchdowns and he made the All-Big East 2^nd team. He had an amazing future. He had NFL size (6-2 200) and could run a 40 in the low 4.4s and he had two more seasons to display himself as a big time NFL receiver. He could have gone in the first round. However, he was suspended for his entire junior season and kicked out of the university for academic reasons. There were strong accusations that he was cheating in multiple classes. He was off the team and forced to take classes at a local community college. However, he earned his way back on the team and into the university as his grades improved and he regained his scholarship. He responded with his most productive season. Despite only playing in 7 games, he missed one due to injury, he led the team with 49 receptions, 746 yards, and 6 touchdowns over his team’s first 8 games, despite the fact that his quarterback was a former Duke point guard. He was back in the scouts good graces and as you could see, he earned a 2^nd round grade from me. There was a very good chance that he went in the 2^nd round and possibly in the first. However, on November 3^rd, he quit the team unexpectedly and scouts were left puzzled. It later came out that he quit the team to avoid a suspension due to an unspecified violation of a team rule involving a car accident and likely alcohol. First he was seen as a quitter, and then he was seen as something that wasn’t much better, a thug that tried to run from his problems. I think he can be a good NFL receiver because I know he has talent. He has elite NFL size, elite NFL strength, he runs extremely well, he has good hands, he has posted great stats despite bad quarterback play, and he plays in a pro style offense. I think that, as bad as it is, the reason why he quit the team is not as bad as quitting the team by itself. If he has just quit the team because he didn’t like football or because he was tired of losing, that would have hurt him more. He’s still a 4^th round prospect in my book, but plenty of kids have gone from doing stupid stuff as kids in college to being capable NFL players. Williams declared for the draft about 3 weeks after quitting the team and I think that someone could draft him in the 3^rd round, someone who doesn’t care about character (Cincinnati? Minnesota?) or someone who loves speed size combinations (Oakland?). I am comparing him to Mike Sims Walker for two reasons. One, their skill sets matchup well, both have good height, good speed (MSW had a better 40, but that barely matters), and are physical. Also, both, in spite of these skills, did not make a huge splash in the draft. MSW had a history of nagging injuries and despite good production, good height, and a good 40 time, he went in the 3^rd round. Replace nagging injuries with questionable character decisions and you have Mike Williams.

NFL Comparison: Mike Sims Walker 

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here