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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Game film on Jamaal Williams with Matt Waldman.

https://mattwaldmanrsp.com/2017/02/2...maal-williams/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3DUHvaJMuI

Unfortunately he could be better than Barry Sanders and Stubby would refuse to use him to his potential.

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Originally Posted by Rutnstrut

Unfortunately he could be better than Barry Sanders and Stubby would refuse to use him to his potential.

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You want to be the guy who tells AR that his job is to feed the ball to a back?

Last year the Packers didn't run the ball much, but that was an anomaly due to the injury situation at RB. In 2015 the Packers were 18th in the NFL in passing attempts (573), and 12th in rushing attempts (436). Many people would say that a team with Aaron Rodgers would be crazy to be that balanced. I wonder what Rut thinks the balance should be.

Even though it certainly seems we have better overall quality at RB, this still better be a pass first team. That's how you win games. I'd take Montgomery, Williams, and Jones over Lacy anytime. With these guys as a change of pace and maximum use of our excellent WRs and upgraded TEs, the offense should be damn near unstoppable.

Down and distance battle. Win it however you can. On defense, you stop the run, you can setup a pass rush. On offense, you run the ball effectively, you can dictate terms better on 2nd or 3rd and manageable.

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Originally Posted by Carolina_Packer

Down and distance battle. Win it however you can. On defense, you stop the run, you can setup a pass rush. On offense, you run the ball effectively, you can dictate terms better on 2nd or 3rd and manageable.

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I disagree on both counts.

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Originally Posted by Carolina_Packer

Down and distance battle. Win it however you can. On defense, you stop the run, you can setup a pass rush. On offense, you run the ball effectively, you can dictate terms better on 2nd or 3rd and manageable.

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I understand how you might prefer this style of football, however stopping the run is no longer the primary job for defence, especially not in a passing league. Stopping the run is still important, but it is secondary to the passing defence.

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Originally Posted by Carolina_Packer

Down and distance battle. Win it however you can. On defense, you stop the run, you can setup a pass rush. On offense, you run the ball effectively, you can dictate terms better on 2nd or 3rd and manageable.

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If you said this sitting on a barstool in the 70s, all the tavern patrons would nod their heads.

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Originally Posted by Carolina_Packer

Down and distance battle. Win it however you can. On defense, you stop the run, you can setup a pass rush. On offense, you run the ball effectively, you can dictate terms better on 2nd or 3rd and manageable.

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The problems with that approach on offense are that its predictable on early downs and leads to a lot of third and longs.

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Originally Posted by Joemailman

Last year the Packers didn't run the ball much, but that was an anomaly due to the injury situation at RB. In 2015 the Packers were 18th in the NFL in passing attempts (573), and 12th in rushing attempts (436). Many people would say that a team with Aaron Rodgers would be crazy to be that balanced. I wonder what Rut thinks the balance should be.

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Top 5 in attempts, ypc be damned! Give me the Vikings O with Peterson all day. Now where's that sarcasm button.....

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Originally Posted by Cleft Crusty

If you said this sitting on a barstool in the 70s, all the tavern patrons would nod their heads.

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Hey Cleft! Are you getting Bob McGinn's old job?

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Originally Posted by Joemailman

Hey Cleft! Are you getting Bob McGinn's old job?

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That would be a job I can naturally walk into. :)

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Originally Posted by texaspackerbacker

I disagree on both counts.

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When do you ever not want 2nd or 3rd and manageable on offense?

When do you ever not want 3rd and long on defense?

I don't long for run first to come back to the NFL. Even having a stud QB, I still believe in having the real threat of a run game to keep the defense off balance and on their heels. I know AR does well in the scramble drill, and maybe that's what it takes sometimes for the receivers to get uncovered. Having a real run game will make them that much more potent.

When the Packers D gives up big chunks of run yards and leaves short yardage conversions, they struggle to apply pressure, for obvious reasons. I've heard Capers and others say it starts with stopping the run.

On offense, I'd much rather take my chances the great majority of the time with first down passes, and second down too if incomplete. And then third? Well, how often is that gonna happen with Aaron Rodgers. A whole lot less often than if we run twice. And then 3rd and 10 isn't that much worse than say 3rd and 6 or 7. The run should be nothing more than a change of pace you hit 'em with when you get them adjusting too much for the passes. Variety can come from different receivers and different kinds of pass plays.

As for defense, yeah, it's necessary to be able to stop the run first. I recall games when we did just that to Adrian Peterson. Other times, lesser runners did sometimes get those big chunks. If your D is not strong enough personnel-wise to stop everything, then it becomes a guessing game - taking away the other team's best weapon. That's the Packers situation, and Capers is better than just about any D Coordinator at scheming a D that can stop the best weapon. When that happens, though, you leave something vulnerable. There's no denying that Capers gets the Packers burned that way on occasion, but I'm pretty sure it would be a whole lot worse without the scheming and compensating. It seems like Capers D works a lot better when you have Corners capable of tight man coverage. Hopefully this year we will have that.

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Originally Posted by texaspackerbacker

On offense, I'd much rather take my chances the great majority of the time with first down passes, and second down too if incomplete. And then third? Well, how often is that gonna happen with Aaron Rodgers. A whole lot less often than if we run twice. And then 3rd and 10 isn't that much worse than say 3rd and 6 or 7. The run should be nothing more than a change of pace you hit 'em with when you get them adjusting too much for the passes. Variety can come from different receivers and different kinds of pass plays.

As for defense, yeah, it's necessary to be able to stop the run first. I recall games when we did just that to Adrian Peterson. Other times, lesser runners did sometimes get those big chunks. If your D is not strong enough personnel-wise to stop everything, then it becomes a guessing game - taking away the other team's best weapon. That's the Packers situation, and Capers is better than just about any D Coordinator at scheming a D that can stop the best weapon. When that happens, though, you leave something vulnerable. There's no denying that Capers gets the Packers burned that way on occasion, but I'm pretty sure it would be a whole lot worse without the scheming and compensating. It seems like Capers D works a lot better when you have Corners capable of tight man coverage. Hopefully this year we will have that.

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I'm sure neither you or anyone else is going to complain if MM adds a real threat of a run game, if not in volume of plays, then in showing and executing it well enough to make teams respect the possibility of a run play. With a lead that can turn into a 4 minute offense near the end of a game. More practically for Green Bay's passing game, a balanced offense with a real run game can leave the opposing defenses guessing and allow for even more offensive chunk plays that they like. Those newly acquired TE's should help.

I think we are adding the threat of it - and yeah, I'm glad of that. The RBs we have now to me, at least, oughta be better than Lacy was at his best, and I think Jahri Evans is actually gonna be an upgrade from Lang. I just don't want them to overuse that threat, though. I always said, if the Packers had the ability to run it down their throat like the Wisconsin Badgers, I'd be for doing that. However, we still are nowhere close to dominating opposition D on the pro level like the Badgers traditionally do on the college level. Plus we have the greatest QB in the history of the world, and I still say, all things being equal, passing first and most is the best way to get the job done. It sure seems like most of the coaching staffs around the league think that too.

I like what you say about ability to run if we have a lead, leaving opponents guessing, etc., and we should be a lot better equipped this year to do that. It should be a great year.

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Originally Posted by Zool

Top 5 in attempts, ypc be damned! Give me the Vikings O with Peterson all day. Now where's that sarcasm button.....

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Isn't Peterson's nickname "All Day"?

From a defensive perspective, I think you want to stop the run to force the other team into 3rd and long. 3rd and 9 is preferable to 3rd and 2 because it makes the offense more predictable.

From an offensive perspective, it's a passing league but you still want to at least have a threat of a running game: the 4 minute offense to protect a lead or for use in play-action. You can't really be a run-first team these days unless you have a stud RB/OL and a historically good defense.

I think if Lacy has a decent year with Seattle people here will go nuts, but it's important to remember that Seattle needs a running game to set up Russell Wilson for maximum efficiency, while the Packers need a passing game to set up some kind of running game.

And now that Eddie's got a new contract, I predict he'll start off gangbusters in Seattle, trying to impress, but after the first year, he'll be back to being "Lunchtime Lacy."