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WR Mike Williams, PIT (1 Viewer)

What does Williams do well/ good?
Wins contested catches (50/50), presents a big/physical body, tracks and high points the ball well, and had good chemistry with his QB. He's got definite weaknesses though and obviously the guy never ran track, but his pro-day times verify what you see on tape.

 
Times were actually better than i expected even accounting for pro day faster times. I thought there was a legit chance he runs a Treadwell like 4.65. He was a good tenth faster.

 
I'll let someone else draft him.....I'm off the train. There's a couple WR I like way more flying under the radar.....I wait and scope one of them up instead......

 
Rookie_Whisperer said:
Wins contested catches (50/50), presents a big/physical body, tracks and high points the ball well, and had good chemistry with his QB. He's got definite weaknesses though and obviously the guy never ran track, but his pro-day times verify what you see on tape.
Thanks.  When I look at him that's all I really see as well.  I think the comp of him to Burress is one of the better comps of this years draft.

 
Yikes, pretty awful form.
I agree his shoulders are knocking back and forth on that run and if he could tighten that up somewhat and not waste so much movement, he likely would have run a better time. He looks like he is fighting himself a bit on that run to me.

That said he tested similar to the many other Mike Williams who have had limited success in the NFL.

 
I agree his shoulders are knocking back and forth on that run and if he could tighten that up somewhat and not waste so much movement, he likely would have run a better time. He looks like he is fighting himself a bit on that run to me.

That said he tested similar to the many other Mike Williams who have had limited success in the NFL.
Aw man just when I was getting over my Treadwell PTSD comparison with this guy you had to go do that.

 
Aw man just when I was getting over my Treadwell PTSD comparison with this guy you had to go do that.
Its trivia. I am sure this is something that has crossed peoples minds though. I can't help it. Crosses mine just about every time I consider this guy.

How many Mike Williams are we on now? I think this is the 4th Mike Williams to be fairly highly rated going into the draft, but there are likely more who were not talked about as much.

 
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Soulfly3 said:
Comparing him to Mike Evans? Good grief...

What a world.
Williams: 

HT: 6'4" WT: 218LBS. ARM LENGTH: 33 3/8" HANDS: 9 3/8"

Evans:

HT: 6'5" WT: 231LBS. ARM LENGTH: 35 1/8" HANDS: 9 5/8"

Big bodied WRs who do well in contested catches, have drop issues and are considered the best or second best WR going into their drafts. Played with a mobile Heiman caliber QB. 

These two so different that only the worlds greatest detective (Batman) would be able to connect these two. Hopefully, commissioner Gordon can put up the bat signal before these two-faced jokers become the bain of this board. 

Note: I don't think the comps are that crazy but this was meant to be a fun post, not a rude attack on you. 

 
Xue timed his pro day 40 at 4.57, which is what I'll count it as unless/until nfldraftscout has a number for it.

 
 

ESPN's Todd McShay notes that Clemson WR Mike Williams is "still a raw route runner."
"He ran mostly slants and go routes at Clemson, so he's going to need to take to coaching and learn how to get in and out of breaks quickly," McShay writes. "That learning curve could keep Williams from having instant success in the NFL." An NFC personnel director who spoke with NFL Media's Lance Zierlein is of a similar mind when it comes to the 6-foot-4, 220-pound first-rounder-to-be, saying that "it will take him some time to figure things out."

 
 
Source: ESPN Insider 
Mar 19 - 3:01 PM

 
Yet again we disagree. I'm probably avoiding Mike Williams. I don't think he's going to be able to do what he did in college at the next level.
Just curious, have you watched a good amount of his game tape?

A lot of people think because he wins contested catches, he must not be getting separation.  He's much more like Mike Evans (I'm not saying he's the next Mike Evans, just that he had similar QB play).  He wins a lot of contested catches, but he's got separation prior to the poorly timed pass arriving.  With a better QB, he'd have much more separation.

 
Clemson WR Mike Williams will visit the Ravens.

Williams will also meet with the Browns and Titans. Williams will be viewed as the top receiver by many, and he answered some questions about his speed during the school's pro day. Williams is at his best on contested situations. If the pass is on target when he has position, Williams will catch the football. It is that simple.

 
 
Source: NFL.com 
Apr 3 - 11:09 AM
 
steelers1080 said:
Just curious, have you watched a good amount of his game tape?

A lot of people think because he wins contested catches, he must not be getting separation.  He's much more like Mike Evans (I'm not saying he's the next Mike Evans, just that he had similar QB play).  He wins a lot of contested catches, but he's got separation prior to the poorly timed pass arriving.  With a better QB, he'd have much more separation.
I'm doing my best to like the guy here but historically, are there a lot of players with his height/weight/speed measurables who succeed in the NFL?  6'4" / 218 and somewhat marginal burst numbers, he is a possession type of WR. He can lineup on both sides and has some muscle memory for running routes from all over the field, has very decent hands from what I can see, but typically his type of movement skills should be easily blanketed by NFL DBs and goes down pretty quickly after the catch. 

He presents an interesting case on where to rank him for me.  Ideally, I'm not looking for those big bodied WRs to be over 6'3" and preferably 6'2" unless they really have some special traits (long speed, vert, exceptional ball skills, crisp routes). I know there are always the Mike Evans' but, it seems like for every Mike Evans there is a Devin Funchess, Green-Beckham, Justin Hunter, Brian Quick, Stephen Hill, Baldwin, etc although most of them had other issues to factor in. There are obviously always exceptions (K Benjamin sort of, Plaxico Burress to some extent, and T Williams kind of came out of nowhere last year) but by and large, once a WR goes past that 6'2"-6'3" range, they get kind of slow and sloppy and start to function more as a TE or jump-ball guy and not a player who can create separation or threaten with RAC skills.  This turns them into one-dimensional players that don't have a very long shelf life.  It seems like these big guys have been ranked fairly high at times over the years and tend to underperform expectations.

Anyway, just trying to tighten my thoughts on this guy and see if anyone else sees any trends with WRs to try and avoid.

 
I'm doing my best to like the guy here but historically, are there a lot of players with his height/weight/speed measurables who succeed in the NFL?  6'4" / 218 and somewhat marginal burst numbers, he is a possession type of WR. He can lineup on both sides and has some muscle memory for running routes from all over the field, has very decent hands from what I can see, but typically his type of movement skills should be easily blanketed by NFL DBs and goes down pretty quickly after the catch. 

He presents an interesting case on where to rank him for me.  Ideally, I'm not looking for those big bodied WRs to be over 6'3" and preferably 6'2" unless they really have some special traits (long speed, vert, exceptional ball skills, crisp routes). I know there are always the Mike Evans' but, it seems like for every Mike Evans there is a Devin Funchess, Green-Beckham, Justin Hunter, Brian Quick, Stephen Hill, Baldwin, etc although most of them had other issues to factor in. There are obviously always exceptions (K Benjamin sort of, Plaxico Burress to some extent, and T Williams kind of came out of nowhere last year) but by and large, once a WR goes past that 6'2"-6'3" range, they get kind of slow and sloppy and start to function more as a TE or jump-ball guy and not a player who can create separation or threaten with RAC skills.  This turns them into one-dimensional players that don't have a very long shelf life.  It seems like these big guys have been ranked fairly high at times over the years and tend to underperform expectations.

Anyway, just trying to tighten my thoughts on this guy and see if anyone else sees any trends with WRs to try and avoid.
Going back a ways but Plaxico Burress was 6'5" I believe, 4.59 40.

Brandon Marshall is listed as 6'4" 230lbs, 4.52 40.

Larry Fitzgerald is listed 6'3" 218lbs, 4.63 40.

Vincent Jackson 6'5" 230lbs, faster 4.46 40 though.

Michael Thomas 6'3" 212lbs, 4.55 40.

 
steelers1080 said:
Just curious, have you watched a good amount of his game tape?

A lot of people think because he wins contested catches, he must not be getting separation.  He's much more like Mike Evans (I'm not saying he's the next Mike Evans, just that he had similar QB play).  He wins a lot of contested catches, but he's got separation prior to the poorly timed pass arriving.  With a better QB, he'd have much more separation.
I have but I'll certainly be watching more. 

 
Going back a ways but Plaxico Burress was 6'5" I believe, 4.59 40.

Brandon Marshall is listed as 6'4" 230lbs, 4.52 40.

Larry Fitzgerald is listed 6'3" 218lbs, 4.63 40.

Vincent Jackson 6'5" 230lbs, faster 4.46 40 though.

Michael Thomas 6'3" 212lbs, 4.55 40.
AJ Green 6'4" 211lbs, 4.50

 
I went back and tried to compare combine numbers of some of these guys too in order to see how the athletic profiles matchup.  Unfortunately Williams only participated in a few drills so not a ton to go on.  And of course combine numbers are hard to find on the older guys.

Bench
Williams: 15
Green: 18
Plax: N/A
Marshall: 28
VJax: N/A
Thomas: 18

Vertical
Williams: 32.5
Green: 34.5
Plax: 33
Marshall: 37
Vjax: 39
Thomas: 35

Broad Jump
Williams: 121
Green: 126
Plax: 115
Marshall: 120
VJax: N/A
Thomas: 126

All measurables included he seems to compare most similarly to Plax and Marshall.  Lowest vert of the group isn't ideal.  Broad jump falls right in the middle.
 

 
Going back a ways but Plaxico Burress was 6'5" I believe, 4.59 40.

Brandon Marshall is listed as 6'4" 230lbs, 4.52 40.

Larry Fitzgerald is listed 6'3" 218lbs, 4.63 40.

Vincent Jackson 6'5" 230lbs, faster 4.46 40 though.

Michael Thomas 6'3" 212lbs, 4.55 40.
Yeah, I guess there are quite a few bigger guys who have excelled. Again, the guys who are 6'3" I don't think their body type gets in the way as far as lateral quickness goes but that is right on the cusp.  V Jax and Brandon Marshall are guys who played and moved well at that height/weight and had almost freakish athletic ability for their size.  Thanks for pointing out a few more examples. 

Do you consider Williams to be similar in abilities and skill-set to any of those guys?

 
I was scrolling down to see if anyone mentioned him. Those are video game measurables. 
Yeah, Calvin is in a class all his own. Randy Moss was 6'4" but he had world class speed and elite ball skills. Probably one of the greatest, if not greatest athlete to play the position, in my opinion.

Anyway, so much for that theory that 6'4" and over struggle with the position.....

 
I was scrolling down to see if anyone mentioned him. Those are video game measurables. 
Only other prospect I can think of that could have physically been close was Pryor, but unfortunately for everyone, Pryor figured put his optimal position about 10 years too late. 

 
Yeah, I guess there are quite a few bigger guys who have excelled. Again, the guys who are 6'3" I don't think their body type gets in the way as far as lateral quickness goes but that is right on the cusp.  V Jax and Brandon Marshall are guys who played and moved well at that height/weight and had almost freakish athletic ability for their size.  Thanks for pointing out a few more examples. 

Do you consider Williams to be similar in abilities and skill-set to any of those guys?
It's hard to say with Williams doing on a couple of the combine drills but athletically overall he's probably last on that list.

On the flip side, when it comes to football ability as a prospect (natural hands catching, catching in traffic, etc) he's probably ahead of everyone save AJ Green.

On top of that, he has probably the best college resume of production against NFL level talent, with again only AJ Green really able to compete on that front.  Williams finished his career with 6-96 against Ohio State and 8-94-1 against Alabama.  That is pretty impressive.

How does all that stack up?  I'm torn.  Like everyone else I'm scared of another Treadwell or, heh, another Mike Williams (USC version).  I will say that I am higher on Williams than I was before you proposed the question that led us to look in to other big guys that have had success.  I'm not confident in Corey Davis being the clear choice over him like so many seem to be all of the sudden over the last few weeks.  I'd probably let situation decide between the two and I don't see enough of a separate to prefer Davis strongly if Williams ends up in a better spot like Tennessee.

 
Martavis Bryant came in at 6'4" 213 with a 4.41 and a big 39 inch vert, 124 broad and 16 reps. He is closer to the Randy Moss athlete than he is to Mike Williams. 

 
It's hard to say with Williams doing on a couple of the combine drills but athletically overall he's probably last on that list.

On the flip side, when it comes to football ability as a prospect (natural hands catching, catching in traffic, etc) he's probably ahead of everyone save AJ Green.

On top of that, he has probably the best college resume of production against NFL level talent, with again only AJ Green really able to compete on that front.  Williams finished his career with 6-96 against Ohio State and 8-94-1 against Alabama.  That is pretty impressive.

How does all that stack up?  I'm torn.  Like everyone else I'm scared of another Treadwell or, heh, another Mike Williams (USC version).  I will say that I am higher on Williams than I was before you proposed the question that led us to look in to other big guys that have had success.  I'm not confident in Corey Davis being the clear choice over him like so many seem to be all of the sudden over the last few weeks.  I'd probably let situation decide between the two and I don't see enough of a separate to prefer Davis strongly if Williams ends up in a better spot like Tennessee.
I agree with most of this except the bolded part. Larry Fitzgerald is the poster child for football ability and college production. 

 
I agree with most of this except the bolded part. Larry Fitzgerald is the poster child for football ability and college production. 
Yeah agreed on football ability (didn't mean to leave him off on that one).  On college production I was talking specifically about production against NFL level talent.  The ACC is a much stronger conference now than the Big East was then, and Williams matched up against some absolute top level defensive talent out of conference that Fitz never really did (like I mentioned, his last two games were 100 yard receiving efforts against OSU and Alabama).

Fitz did play Miami but he had limited success against them (7-74 and 3-26 in his two games).

 
Yeah agreed on football ability (didn't mean to leave him off on that one).  On college production I was talking specifically about production against NFL level talent.  The ACC is a much stronger conference now than the Big East was then, and Williams matched up against some absolute top level defensive talent out of conference that Fitz never really did (like I mentioned, his last two games were 100 yard receiving efforts against OSU and Alabama).

Fitz did play Miami but he had limited success against them (7-74 and 3-26 in his two games).
Fair. No doubt Williams played against the best of the best.

 
Clemson WR Mike Williams visited the Titans on Tuesday.
"They've done extensive work here," Ian Rapoport intriguingly added to his report. Tennessee badly needs receiving help. Fortunately, it has the Draft equity to get it with two picks in Round 1 (Nos. 5 and 18 overall). The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder may still run raw routes, but nobody is better in contested situations. NFL.com's Lance Zierlein sees former Steelers WR Plaxico Burress in Williams' game.

 
 
Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter 
Apr 12 - 6:11 PM

 
 

Clemson WR Mike Williams is visiting the Browns on Friday, according to Mike Garafolo.
With Corey Davis' quiet draft process and John Ross' injury history, we would be surprised if Mike Williams is not the first receiver. The Browns added Kenny Britt in the offseason and basically let Terrelle Pryor walk. Williams would play on the outside, which would likely push Corey Coleman to the slot.

 
 
Source: Mike Garafolo on Twitter 
Apr 14 - 10:35 AM

 
2017 NFL Draft Live Analysis: Fantasy Football Values Round 1

Excerpt:

Los Angeles Chargers: Mike Williams, WR – Annnnddd… don’t love this pick. I am a big fan of Williams and think he was being overly criticized heading into the draft, but how many receivers do the Chargers need? If Keenan Allen is healthy (yes, big if), Williams will step in to battle and likely overtake Tyrell Williams for the No. 2 role. But Tyrell isn’t going to completely fade away, and then you still have Travis Benjamin and Antonio GatesPhilip Rivers threw 662 passes two years ago with 570 and 578 the year before and after. Still, the ol’ cliche of only one ball to go around applies here. Williams has a great NFL body, and while there are concerns with his separation ability, especially downfield, he outplays defenders regularly. Williams will likely see 60-70 targets as a rookie, and that caps his upside. Williams is a fringe WR3/4 that carries value because of his touchdown upside over his volume of targets.
 
Chargers selected Clemson WR Mike Williams with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft.

The first pick of the Los Angeles Chargers era, Williams (6’4/218) turned pro as a redshirt junior after rebounding from a sophomore-season neck fracture to drop a 98-1,361-11 (13.9 YPR) receiving line in 2016. Williams’ tape reveals a wideout whose game is built on back-shoulder fades and contested catches, traits that translate well to the pros. A la Alshon Jeffery, Williams is dominant at the catch point and fearless over the middle. He has long arms (33 3/8") and natural hands, which help Williams compensate for sub-par separation. Possessing 4.56-4.58 speed and a mere 32-inch vertical, Williams’ ceiling likely isn’t as high as Alshon’s, but he wins in similar ways and should be used similarly in the NFL.

 
Zero comments on the #2 WR rookie since the draft?

I think this a great spot for him. Rivers is a good QB on a team that likes to pass. Their #1 can't stay healthy. Tyrell is good but I don't think he's good enough to hold off Mike. Benjamin is a non threat. Gordon and the TEs are good but if Mike can be the 1 or 1 a/b, there could be a lot to like here. But also lots to debate. I'm surprised there isn't more comments. 

 

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