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Dynasty: Anthony Ratliff-Williams WR (1 Viewer)

Zyphros

Footballguy
Meet one of my favorite WR's in the draft

Anthony Ratliff-Williams

He's played WR for only 3 years in Chapel Hill, improved dramatically from 2017 til now.  

He's likely to test well as an athlete, and if he shows the improvement he did up until now watch out.  He looks the part, but there's not a whole lot of technique to him yet which makes me think he's a 3rd rounder at best.  But on the good side, he's tough, strong and fast, things that teams tend to look for.  I for one am pretty excited about him.  

I should hate him because he went to a rival high school of mine, but he's impressed me.  

 
Anthony Ratliff-Williams has only been playing the receiver position since 2016.   Has very good speed and ability to win at the catch point.   Lots of upside given how he has performed with limited experience.   If he can further advance his route running / tree, he would continue to ascend up.   As of right now he wins with athletic ability, hands, and ball skills.

 
North Carolina WR Anthony Ratliff-Williams ran the 40-yard dash in an unofficial 4.46 seconds at his pro day.

Remember to add 0.05-0.10 seconds to that forty time, so it's an average to above average result for Ratliff-Williams (6'1/205). The receiver also had an average 35-inch vertical, but he did walk away with a meeting lined up with the hometown Carolina Panthers. Arguably an NFL Scouting Combine snub, Ratliff-Williams posted two-straight 630-yard seasons at North Carolina, so he has a shot at earning a Day 3 selection come April.

SOURCE: Phil Orban on Twitter

Mar 25, 2019, 6:26 PM
 
Not bad at all.  Could of gone better and I honestly thought he'd be a better athlete, but this is far from disappointing.  Falls in line with a lot of the other WR's this year, which isn't a bad thing.  He lacks so much polish but if he gets mentored somewhere I think he'll be a great steal for a team.  

 
Not bad at all.  Could of gone better and I honestly thought he'd be a better athlete, but this is far from disappointing.  Falls in line with a lot of the other WR's this year, which isn't a bad thing.  He lacks so much polish but if he gets mentored somewhere I think he'll be a great steal for a team.  
A good nickname for him is primer. 

 
The Athletic's Dane Brugler argues that North Carolina WR Anthony Ratliff-Williams should have stayed in school.

Brugler slaps a late Day 3/UDFA grade on Ratliff-Williams (6'1/205), and that's where we should expect the receiver to be drafted. Ratliff-Williams caught 42 passes for 689 yards and two touchdowns as a junior, so perhaps he could have flirted with 1,000 yards if he stayed at UNC. Even if he's not fully developed, Ratliff-Williams does bring adequate speed, but he'll have to earn a roster spot during training camp and preseason games.

SOURCE: Dane Brugler on Twitter

Apr 5, 2019, 6:19 PM

 
He is wonderful and my Titans will absolutely cut him and watch him do well for another team
Nah he won't be cut, but they might try and squeak him on the practice squad.  They really don't have anything behind AJ, Corey, and Humphries.  I don't particularly count Tajae or Taywan, who they could end up trading even.  

 
dont you have to be cut to be placed on the practice squad?
Not sure how it works honestly, don't teams get priority for their own players to put on practice squad before others can snipe them away?  I don't know.  

 
Zyphros said:
Not sure how it works honestly, don't teams get priority for their own players to put on practice squad before others can snipe them away?  I don't know.  
Only in the sense they speak to them first but the player can go to any teams practice squad that he has an offer on. Jeremy McNichols did that on hard knocks in 2017 when he left Tampa with an offer for the practice squad and went to San Francisco.

 
Zyphros said:
Not sure how it works honestly, don't teams get priority for their own players to put on practice squad before others can snipe them away?  I don't know.  
Only in the sense they speak to them first but the player can go to any teams practice squad that he has an offer on. Jeremy McNichols did that on hard knocks in 2017 when he left Tampa with an offer for the practice squad and went to San Francisco.
Player gets cut

goes through waivers

if unclaimed free to sign anywhere

 
But to be clear if claimed off of waivers player must go on the 53 man active roster, he can not be claimed and put on the practice squad.

 
I’ve heard literally nothing about him all of OTAs so I’m not hopeful for this year.  But I can hope he gets on a different teams PS. 

 
I’ve heard literally nothing about him all of OTAs so I’m not hopeful for this year.  But I can hope he gets on a different teams PS. 
Vrabel instituted a rule last year that UDFAs can not speak to the press. 

The average Titans writer got way younger this year and so a stupid trend came with it- let's not pretend some UDFA WR is going to pan out like every other year. 

These two combined equal very little reporting on the UDFA WRs.

Look at seasoned veteran writers Wyatt or Glennon. They have no prob discussing Williams.

Williams blocks too hard and bumps too hard for OTAs. He's getting respect and annoying the CBs with it.  I loved reading that Evans was upset with his block. Despite being written as a CB, Evans is a LB!!! Catch of the offseason, catch of OTAs

Excellent on return game. Vrabel said "welllll" and then didn't commit when asked if he's as good as Slater.

Sincerely think he's the most complete WR of the last draft. It's like a lovefest, but there isn't anything you can think of that this guy didn't bust his... to be good at. 

Don't forget he isn't 6-4 and doesn't run a 4.2 40 and catch with the biggest hands you've ever seen. It is still a position that extreme athletic traits wins out over hustle. 

I think he has to try to be identical to Hines Ward. Take two years on a PS, hit the weights, work out with LBs, keep watching tons of tape...everything to be the toughest smartest WR. He's going to be stuck behind "gazelles" unless he can make all those intangibles be so great, the coach can't resist putting him in.

The last two days, they worked on screen passes. Alex Barnes was so smooth. There's almost nothing on that. Titans.com has a video of 6 catches where he doesn't break stride. On 2 or 3 he switches hands, another he leans back and somehow keeps running. I haven't heard much on him but whew is he smooth 

 
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five days of camp, six or seven touchdowns, at least one per day

Yesterday it looked like his streak was over, but they put him back in late and he caught one from third stringer Woodside.

I don't think he's played with Mariota yet, mostly Tannehill. 

Returning punts with the main rotation, so that's something where he's getting consideration. 

Vrabel mentioned his blocking.

Still, certain the Titans will mess this up as they're just too deep

One former scout wrote how you can tell he's a former QB that's been taught how to run. Most WRs catch the ball and run away from everyone. He turns and looks for his blockers and uses them. He's turned a few short ones into long gains every day which usually brings the staff out to point out downfield blocks or where defenders are. Later, he ran a punt return back without using the sideline and this guy just loved it- said you almost never see that. 

Still seems like the perfectly trained WR prototype, I wondered if he'd lose that in camp but...doing everything like a coach would instruct

 
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Yes, if there's one thing that everyone says about Tennessee, it's that they have the deepest and most talented WR corps in the league.
Not that, but very deep in “players viewed as quality prospects within the last few years that many still have hopes of a breakout from.”

Corey Davis, AJ Brown, and even Taywan Taylor (probably not Tajae Sharpe anymore) are all in the “prospect group.”  I can see the point that another young, unproven guy might have a better path somewhere like Minnesota with two guys obviously better but not much else to contend with for notice. How does a youngster stand out amongst 3-4 other youngsters all with similar potential and in-house supporters on staff?

 
I don't think he's played with Mariota yet, mostly Tannehill. 
Does that also mean that he's scoring these TD's against 2nd/3rd string CB's? That would be the bigger concern to me than who is throwing him the ball. Their CB group doesn't seem nearly as deep as their WR's imo but you probably know if that's true better than myself.

 
BoltBacker said:
Does that also mean that he's scoring these TD's against 2nd/3rd string CB's? That would be the bigger concern to me than who is throwing him the ball. Their CB group doesn't seem nearly as deep as their WR's imo but you probably know if that's true better than myself.
Yes. I would agree if it were later in camp, but they're only up to day 6 or so and a UDFA shouldn't be expected to run with the ones yet. Maybe, but it's not a negative 7 days in

 
tangfoot said:
Yes, if there's one thing that everyone says about Tennessee, it's that they have the deepest and most talented WR corps in the league.
Taywan, Tajae, Davis, and Humphries have all started in the NFL. Brown is a favorite prospect of many (and has missed time) and holds some "give him a shot" space in the lineup as a high draft pick. That's five guys. Many teams keep four. Their KR guy is a WR too and he led the NFL in KR average last year. There's probably some assumed "let's get him reps at WR" in here too. Now we're up to six guys. That's a lot for a rookie UDFA to beat out or overshadow to get an honest chance with the ones. 

I expect Vrabel to eventually say something like "should we keep Taywan or Tajae? That's a tough decision for us" keep one of them and then we'll see ARF playing well elsewhere. If his agent is any good, he can find a home for a guy that's scored a TD each day and it'll be with a team where he has a shot at playing. If his agent is OK, he'll find a home for the best trained/drilled WR in years and he can go somewhere and do all the grunt work until their camp in 2020. My Titans, however, will never be like Tajae is meh so let's go with this impressive UDFA. They'll keep a fifth TE over him or somesuch too and....we all know what our fave teams stink at and I'd bet $ they mess this up

 
Going by practice snap count, Williams beat Malcolm Butler for two TDs a few days ago and his snaps have doubled in the two days since.

Not a nice move by Vrabel to pull him out of redzone offense so people would stop talking about his streak. If he gets em' down field, he should be able to eat. I hardly think the streak was distracting

 
10 days, 14 TDs, only day he didn't was when Vrabel pulled him in the red zone

40-50 snaps per practice now. Only some starters and Raymond are higher

Vrabel subbed linemen for a few days, going easy on the starters and wanting to see guys in different spots. Tuesday he did the same with the wideouts. Everyone did well. Sad but true, he needs some people ahead of him to not do well. 

First preseason game tomorrow. Should be starters for a quarter. ARW should get a ton of time after that. I would bet he, Tolliver, and Raymond are the 3 WRs for much of the second half.

The second Q should be Tannehill and he should get a selection of starters as the Titans are trying to get him ready in case of an MM8 injury.

The way I figure, for his climb, is ARW must be part of the second Q or do super well in the second half. A bad game could wreck everything. And finally- Vrabel sitting him or barely playing him, that would be a good sign too

 
10 days, 14 TDs, only day he didn't was when Vrabel pulled him in the red zone

40-50 snaps per practice now. Only some starters and Raymond are higher

Vrabel subbed linemen for a few days, going easy on the starters and wanting to see guys in different spots. Tuesday he did the same with the wideouts. Everyone did well. Sad but true, he needs some people ahead of him to not do well. 

First preseason game tomorrow. Should be starters for a quarter. ARW should get a ton of time after that. I would bet he, Tolliver, and Raymond are the 3 WRs for much of the second half.

The second Q should be Tannehill and he should get a selection of starters as the Titans are trying to get him ready in case of an MM8 injury.

The way I figure, for his climb, is ARW must be part of the second Q or do super well in the second half. A bad game could wreck everything. And finally- Vrabel sitting him or barely playing him, that would be a good sign too
Are you telling me that Jalen Tolliver is actually worth a roster spot over ARat?  Batson is a special teamer right?  So he's likely safe, along with AJ Brown and Corey Davis, probably Humphries as well.  Who in training camp is actually ahead of him?  Tajae and Taywan?  That experiment has ran it's course, time to cut.  Easy choice.  

 
Are you telling me that Jalen Tolliver is actually worth a roster spot over ARat?  Batson is a special teamer right?  So he's likely safe, along with AJ Brown and Corey Davis, probably Humphries as well.  Who in training camp is actually ahead of him?  Tajae and Taywan?  That experiment has ran it's course, time to cut.  Easy choice.  
No, not like that. It's a 3 WR offense and 3 guys that probably play much of the second half.

Batson is on IR. Raymond is a speedy lil bugger and probably replaces him in the very same role as last year BUT on the practice squad.  Coaches got on the DBs for less than best effort and Raymond didn't do as well after. He's a real hard one to figure out, like Batson. He's so wow quick that there probably is a role for him BUT it'd be super limited. What that worth? Attracting a certain DB (like Taylor does) because he's so quick, that would help Humphries and Davis. Again, what's that worth if Taylor can do that too?

The Titans are considering 5 guys as part of the starters or first unit. The starters have been Taylor, Davis, and Humphries every day except the one mixup day when they change on purpose. (add Brown and Tajae for the five)

Darius Jennings led the NFL in KR last year. He has played S, CB, RB, FB, WR, KR, PR, ace in the NFL. He is a super utility man that will be tough to beat out. I mean if it were to come down to Tajae or him, I think Jennings would win. Field position is just so important and how much time does a 5th WR get, regardless of what happens in camp?

I think they're going to keep seven WRs if Taylor or Tajae aren't traded. The backup RBs are fading fast. The backup TEs are not doing well in the 3 WR offense. They're proving that they can do one thing well- block or run a route. If asked to ad-lib or feed off Marcus' check down, they don't do well. There's an enormous gap between Jonnu and Firkser, Wick, Pruitt. Now that Flu has become the h-back, I really question if any of them make it. It seems like a PS spot for a backup TE and that's it. The Titans were a 3 TE offense for five years or so and have kept five to seven tight ends. Keeping two would create some room to add linemen, WRs, or whatever.  Geesh, it'd make the Titans O normal for a change.

Anyway, like I said, ARW has finally got some work with the first team but a little bit. He's in there on the second. He did move up. It would take something major though to make him bump Tajae. Tajae has always been a practice player and is doing real well. He usually stinks week one, but that would be too late for ARW.

The numbers are not in ARWs favor, hence my constant prediction that the Titans mess this up and he signs elsewhere 

 
@Bri I didn't see him at all yesterday, can you shed some light?  He doesn't show up in box scores either.  
They didn't play real offense, neither team did much of the time. Before the snap, it was predetermined who they were throwing to. I forgot this scenario above but, it's pretty common for week one of preseason.

He had 2 or 3 catches super super late. He's not in box score? He is in the site I have open. 

I saw him sub in in the second and third and only stay in super late. 

Raymond and Tolliver did well and...with everyone knowing the ball was coming to them. Kudos to them. The announcers didn't much like the CBs on them so...grain of salt. Whatever though, they had their chance and grabbed it.

It wasn't a good sign. I was surprised they didn't make him the obvious target earlier but..it's not a good sign. Have to see what happens this week. There's too many ways to read into this

 
Pats come to town to practice and play this week. There are always forced matchups in these scenarios and real good quotes. I totally expect ARW to be put on the spot at some point. 

Also, wild prediction- a glowing quote by Belichick this week, yet Titans cut him at end of summer

 
Most snaps of anyone today, excellent day. Tajae bounced with Brown up. Tajae did little with second string while ARW had two TDs.

Played PR, back man, and gunner.

Tajae was not noticeable on ST and didn't need to take a step back in that regard.

Tajae is probably allowed a bad day and grumpy attitude after doing well and being demoted for a rook who has done nothing. He's a good egg, so let's blowoff today unless it happens again. 

 
Good day, only he and Taylor really did.

He ran with somewhere between 2s and 3s

Returned punts second behind adoree

Belichick upset with DBs not getting past his blocks, "excellent technique, son"

Is it worth anything when "the coach" notices you?...we'll see

 
Good day, only he and Taylor really did.

He ran with somewhere between 2s and 3s

Returned punts second behind adoree

Belichick upset with DBs not getting past his blocks, "excellent technique, son"

Is it worth anything when "the coach" notices you?...we'll see
Very much appreciate your reporting on the Titans and ARW!

 
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