Official Jamaal Williams 2017 Packers Fourth Round Draft Pick

Interesting. Had a knee injury (not sure when) and was booted off the team for violating team rules. Before you fire up the outrage machine, remember, this is BYU and the violation was having a girl in your room.

pSparq has him a definite notch below other RBs in athleticism, and he ranks below Clement and Ogunbawale from the Badgers. 45th overall in athletics traits at RB. He id going to need over or through people at 6' 212 lbs. His 1.60 first 10 yards not bad though. Might be quick enough to hit a hole, but he sounds like an I formation back. If he can learn to cut like Starks could, might find some room.

http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/b...an-state-1.jpg

CBS: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/p...amaal-williams

STRENGTHS: Shows lateral agility and surprising balance for a back with his high-cut frame. Impressive power for his build, consistently generating yardage after contact. Keeps his legs churning and spins out of tackles, falling forward to rack up extra yards.
His acceleration comes naturally. His mother was a standout sprinter at UCLA and he ran for the BYU track team in 2014.

--Rob Rang (9/14/14)

NFL.com: http://www.nfl.com/draft/2017/profil...ams?id=2558204

OVERVIEW
Williams led the Cougars in rushing in all four seasons in which he played, even though he has had off-field and injury issues during his time in Provo. The all-state pick from California played immediately as a true freshman, starting eight games and rushing for 755 yards and 12 touchdowns on 166 carries. He also added 315 yards and a touchdown on 27 receptions. Williams was an FBS All-Independent team pick as the full-time starter in 2013, gaining 1,233 yards and scoring seven times on 217 totes (18-125 receiving). His junior season was derailed by a knee injury and suspension for multiple team code violations, including an underage drinking citation. He rushed for 518 yards and four scores in seven games that year, still leading the team in rushing. Williams sat out the 2015 season entirely after withdrawing from school for personal reasons, always intending to return for his senior season the following fall. He carried the mail for the Cougars 234 times in 2016, accumulating 1,375 yards and scoring 12 times, though he missed three games with an ankle injury. He finished fifth in the country with 137.5 yards per game last fall, in part thanks to a 287-yard, five-touchdown effort against Toledo before the ankle injury occurred.

STRENGTHS Carries NFL size with a muscular build and good height. Able to bend at point of impact and attack with decent leverage. Uses his stiff arm as a weapon to escape tackles on an angle. Decisive runner. Sees it and goes. Not into dancing. Has a functional spin move he uses to spin out of tackles and grind out a few extra yards. Keeps his feet churning through contact. Above average ball security with a fumble rate of 140 (one fumble every 140 carries).

WEAKNESSES Bulls through running lanes crashing into blockers rather than shifting with the contours. Doesn't have athleticism to create early yardage for himself. Missing a functional jump cut for sudden shift from gap to gap once line of scrimmage muddies. Hit or miss with run lanes he chooses. Excessive forward lean creates issues with contact balance. Too easily felled by arm tackles. Banger, but not a tackle breaker. Doesn't have the speed to turn the corner when runs spill outside.

DRAFT PROJECTION Rounds 4-5

SOURCES TELL US "He's not very dynamic as a runner so he needs to carve out a niche for himself as a physical backup who can go cover on kickoffs. He hasn't been a special teams guy but he better start." - AFC West regional scout

NFL COMPARISON Stepfan Taylor

BOTTOM LINE His NFL size and physical nature give him a shot to make the back-end of the running back depth chart, but his inability to create for himself with broken tackles and elusiveness puts a ceiling on his draft value.
-Lance Zierlein

Not a lot of film. Here is coaching review of BYU versus Michigan St.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5I09G_VXvs

Highlights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpQO8L5YMtg

Actual Coaching Film of BYU vs MSU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vjhE3dBe9c

I don't know if he can catch but his running style is a bit of a cross between James Starks and Matt Forte. Runs a bit upright, spins out of a lot of tackles, a bit heavy footed but a nice one cut runner.

Watching the highlight reel (I know, I know) it looks like he has balance and vision and a quick burst although not break away speed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HarveyWallbangers

I don't know if he can catch but his running style is a bit of a cross between James Starks and Matt Forte. Runs a bit upright, spins out of a lot of tackles, a bit heavy footed but a nice one cut runner.

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I think this is the RB you end with when scouts watch film with coaches.

Jones is the guy you get when scouts watch film with a measurables spreadsheet nearby.

This is from ROTOEXPERTS Draft Analysis:

Green Bay Packers: Jamaal Williams, RB – I love this kid, and I love this spot. Williams was my fifth ranked running back, and it’s because he knows what it takes to be a NFL running back. Williams has the best vision of the draft, lets holes develop or finds his own and has a terrific lower half. Williams also has high-end acceleration with that power and what I call “Madden button moves” (spin, juke, truck, stutter step). Ty Montgomery won’t away completely, and Williams might take a few weeks to gain full control of the backfield (like Jordan Howard last year), but he will produce weekly RB1 numbers at some point of the 2017 season.

Matt Waldman has Williams as his #6 RB:

"An underrated option,
Williams is physical, quicker
than his Combine data, and
versatile. Williams' work to
make decisions at the
reaction to instinct gives him
as much upside as any back
in this draft"

From former JSO guy Tyler Dunne on Jamaal Williams:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...-free-what-now

Quote:

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Williams chose the school even though he isn't Mormon. He signed its "Honor Code" and became part of its miniscule black population. He endured the endless double takes—classmates making eye contact, looking away, then slowly turning back to hold a stare for one…two…three seconds. He was once suspended for—gasp!—underage drinking, and he was once exiled for a full season for—the horror!—having sex.

~snip~

We slide into a booth, and the waitress insists Williams try one of the 15 cocktails.

He looks confused.

"What's a cocktail?" he asks. "Does it have like shrimp in it?"

Not quite. He contemplates.

"Do you have anything with strawberry? Can you put some Sprite in it?"

He's talked into a vodka and pulp, and I roll with the Ole Kentucky. Moments later, out of the corner of his eye, Williams spots an inebriated middle-aged woman stumbling toward the restroom with arms over friends in Kellen Winslow-like glory. "She's lit!" he howls, pretending to shoot a bow and arrow. "She's lit!"

Then our drinks arrive, and something strange happens.

Over the next three hours, Williams takes one-and-a-half sips of his. He hates it. In fact, outside of the occasional drink with Mom at Red Robin, he says he doesn't drink alcohol much at all. "Doesn't taste good!" Nor does he rage until 3 a.m. "I'll take video games over drinking and girls any day." To him, the whole game is exhausting. He and his friends talk big, but he'd rather dance in his compression shorts, at home, alone, than waste all night on the prowl.

Here at The Henry, there's a row of gorgeous women at the bar. Williams ignores them all.

The only person he cares about in Scottsdale is the man sitting to his left.

Indeed, three days in the desert with Williams and Neal will reveal a more profound discovery than the liberation I expected to witness.

While it's true Williams is a free man now, he already has adopted a new code to put edges around that freedom. He traded in BYU's Honor Code for the Luke Neal Code.

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Been hearing mixed reviews about this kid, guess we'll just have to wait til camp to see which ones are true.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HarveyWallbangers

I don't know if he can catch but his running style is a bit of a cross between James Starks and Matt Forte. Runs a bit upright, spins out of a lot of tackles, a bit heavy footed but a nice one cut runner.

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Ryan Grant - no nonsense, good decision maker, fall forward, tough guy

We have an AR powered offense. We need consistent yards not hit or miss. Good down and distance fuels ARs game. Perfect fit.

I thought in the MSU tape there were a few times he was brought down too easily by arm tackles. I saw one hell of a good blitz pickup. I agree with the James Starks comparison.

I am more worried that his Uncle, at least formerly, seems a little unbalanced.

I noticed in one of the Youtube clips that he set up for a half-back pass, but didn't end up throwing it, and tucked and ran. They mentioned in the clip that he's a lefty. For the board experts, I was just curious whether a running back being a lefty makes any difference at all.

No if you're MacArthur Lane!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...-3-report-card

No. 134 Green Bay Packers: Jamaal Williams, Running Back, BYU

Strengths: Downhill style, foot quickness.

Weaknesses: Vision.

Bleacher Report's Ty Dunne profiled Jamaal Williams earlier in April. Williams sounds like a character Trey Parker and Matt Stone might have made up: a high school kid who had never heard of the Mormon religion until he was all but committed to BYU, then tried to have a "normal" college experience (girls, beverages) but kept getting hammered by the strict rules of campus life in Provo.

Williams' life was no episode of South Park, however. Williams kept getting suspended for things that kids in most colleges get away with before noon. Older, wiser and more committed to the straight-and-narrow than ever, Williams enters the NFL as an outstanding value pick at this point in the draft. He's a powerful, no-nonsense downhill runner who takes care of the ball and finishes every run.

Williams has bell-cow potential, but he will likely start his career as a situational runner and max-effort special teamer. He may not be Eddie Lacy at his peak, but Williams can be James Starks at his peak. Grade: A-minus.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Joemailman

I thought in the MSU tape there were a few times he was brought down too easily by arm tackles. I saw one hell of a good blitz pickup. I agree with the James Starks comparison.

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Same. He goes down kinda easy when hit high.

Yep, he reminds me of James Starks, but with better hands. Looks like they shovel passed and read options/pitched to him at times. Not much of a route runner but I liked that he showed willingness to block in pass pro. I think they'll expect him to get 5-8 carries.
Looks like an upgrade over Christine Micheal.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JustinHarrell

Ryan Grant - no nonsense, good decision maker, fall forward, tough guy

We have an AR powered offense. We need consistent yards not hit or miss. Good down and distance fuels ARs game. Perfect fit.

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This is what I see too. Ryan Grant minus the 6th gear. No dancing, no cute stuff, just hit the hole full speed, cut north/south, and run. Might not create a lot of yards on his own but won't leave any on the field either. Hopefully he's got Grant's ball security too.