FAB 2. Williams Is Worth Pursuing

Whether it’s drafting him at No. 5 if he miraculously falls to Tampa Bay or whether the Bucs trade up to get him, Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams is worth it.

Watching Alabama play during the college football season I could tell that Williams was a great player, but with other Crimson Tide defensive tackles from Jonathan Allen and Da’Ron Payne coming out as first-round draft picks in years past, exactly how special is Williams? The answer is very special.

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks really researching Williams and you might not find a better breakdown of his abilities than the video that Brett Kollman produced. Kollman does a great job of teaching us about Williams with the tape and pointing out the traits that make the redshirt sophomore absolutely elite.

It’s amazing that Williams, who was a one-year starter at Alabama, has received the best defensive grade Pro Football Focus has ever given, but it’s true. PFF has given Williams, who had 71 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks and a safety. Williams played in nine games as a reserve during his redshirt freshman season and recorded 20 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.

If Alabama DI Quinnen Williams (96.0 overall grade) were to fall to the #Bucs at the 5th pick, Tampa would be getting the highest graded defensive player PFF has ever graded in the FBS (since 2011). https://t.co/ETWPoKxY7O

— PFF TB Buccaneers (@PFF_Buccaneers) March 27, 2019

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein offers up the good and bad about Williams, who just turned 21 in December and is one of the youngest players in this year’s draft class:

“Williams’ hands, feet and overall movement are extremely efficient and he combines those features with short-area burst to create instant wins at the point of attack to propel him to the football. His play strength is good, but his lack of mass and length will show up at times against NFL competition. Despite having just a single season of headline production, his instincts, quickness and athleticism are projectable play traits that should allow for continued production against both the run and pass on the next level. Williams is an instant starter with Pro Bowl potential.”

What’s so intriguing about the Alabama All-American is that he uses his hands so well for being so young. He’s so polished for a player who helped lead Alabama to back-to-back national championship games at age 19 and 20.

With his height, weight, quick hands and the fact that he rushes with both a plan and good natural instincts, he reminds me a bit of legendary Bucs defensive end Warren Sapp. He also has the ability to redirect like Sapp did, which is something that current three-tech defensive tackle Gerald McCoy doesn’t possess.

Now Sapp had an elite get-off that Williams doesn’t possess, not to mention the swagger and intimidation factor that the Crimson Tide star doesn’t seem to have, either. But there are some physical and athletic gifts that are reminiscent of Tampa Bay’s Hall of Famer.

Alabama DT Quinnen Williams – Photo by: Getty Images

Williams, the 2018 Outland Trophy winner, ran an impressive 4.83 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis at 6-foot-3, 303 pounds. He chose not to run the 40 at his pro day, and it’s not uncommon to see draft prospects turn in faster times in more familiar surroundings. But I can see why Williams wanted to stick with a 4.83 because it’s a great number.

Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver had his pro day on Thursday and ran a 4.79 while weighing 22 pounds less than as Williams did when he ran the 40-yard dash, as Oliver weighed 281 pounds at his pro day. Those are very comparable times.

Oliver is the better athlete, as he also ran a 4.22 in the short shuttle that was faster than Saquon Barkley’s 4.24 last year. But he also has some of the shortest arms of any defensive lineman in the draft (31.75 inches), some of the smallest hands (9.25) and is one of the shortest and lightest defensive tackles in the draft at just under 6-foot-2 and weighing 281 pounds.

The Bucs believed Oliver played under 280 for the Cougars and his frame wouldn’t allow him to put on much more natural weight. I like Oliver a lot and think he could fit in Tampa Bay’s one-gap penetrating scheme, but I don’t get the sense the Bucs like him enough to consider him in the Top 10 – although defensive coordinator Todd Bowles was at Houston’s pro day on Thursday.

From what I’ve heard, from all of the highlight reel plays he’s had over the last three years, there are just as many players where he’s easily neutralized one-on-one too often or winds up on the ground too much for Tampa Bay’s liking. The message I keep hearing is that Oliver is not Aaron Donald, especially as a pass rusher, and that’s true. Oliver had 53 tackles for loss in the run game, but just 13.5 sacks in three years and no more than 5.5 sacks in any season. Oliver only had three sacks last year.

Donald had 66 tackles for loss in four seasons, but had 29.5 sacks at Pittsburgh, including two years with 11 sacks. So it comes as no surprise that Donald has posted three double-digit sack seasons in his five years in the NFL, including a career-high and league-best 20.5 sacks in 2018.

Houston DT Ed Oliver – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Williams has such a high ceiling, and at age 21 he has the skill set to become a double-digit sacker in the NFL with his blend of size, speed, instincts, technique, work ethic and hustle. After digging into the research, it’s easy to see why Williams has drawn so many raves and why he’s graded higher than Oliver.

Due to his frame and experience at Alabama, Williams has the flexibility to play three-tech defensive tackle, five-tech defensive end and even nose tackle in Bowles’ 3-4 scheme. The Bucs could even keep McCoy and have him start for a 10th season at three-tech and have Williams begin his career as a disruptive five-tech defensive end ahead of Will Gholston and then eventually transition over to the weakside to replace McCoy. A defensive line consisting of Williams, Vea and McCoy flanked by SAM linebacker Carl Nassib and WILL linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul would be quite formidable.

Williams is only going to grow into his 6-foot-3, 303-pound frame and add more muscle and power in the coming years. He’s going to become a real force in the NFL, and if the Bucs are lucky, it just could happen in Tampa Bay.