Athlon Sports had Connor Williams ranked as their 1 OT in the last 2 years

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Mookie

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STRONG POINTS: When he’s at his best, Williams is the total package at left tackle, a nimble pass protector and road-grading run blocker. He looks the part with a well-proportioned body, and he plays with natural balance. His feet are light and quick, and he can beat pass rushers to the spot before receiving them with a sturdy base. He plays with a nasty disposition in the run game, willing and able to drive offensive linemen back at the point of attack.

WEAK POINTS: Teams will need to take a close look at his medicals, as Williams suffered MCL and PCL injuries early last year. He was up and down throughout the season, presumably because of the knee. It appeared as if there were times when he was worried about his knee giving out on him when trying to deal with counter-moves or getting out in space.

SUMMARY: Provided team doctors give the thumbs-up on his knee and he returns to his 2016 level of play, Williams is the best offensive tackle to come out of the college ranks in the last two years. Scheme-diverse with a well-rounded game, he is worthy of a top-10 pick.

FINAL GRADE: 1st round
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I've heard this many times now. So if he's truly a can't miss talent and still dropped to #50, then that means there must be some uncertainty about his long term health, right?
 
The only way we'll find out the truth about this guy is to bring him along carefully and accentuate his talents. Every pick has its highs and lows. He gives us a good chance of success, imho. I think there's likely a good reason why he was rated so highly. Here's hoping we're patient with him and avoid rushing him back prematurely. I'm confident he'll do all he can to recover from his knee injury in good order. His less than ideal combine was understandable.
 
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JoeyBoy718 said:
I've heard this many times now. So if he's truly a can't miss talent and still dropped to #50, then that means there must be some uncertainty about his long term health, right?
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I think it was a combination of the injury/missed time and an underwhelming combine. Teams can overthink the measurables (think Travis Frederick) and with Williams once it started to become apparent he may not be a LT at the next level that undoubtedly affects the value of the player. In his case, since they haven't seen him play inside that projection may make some teams hesitant when there were other good guard prospects in the class who weren't coming off a disappointing season.

But he was undoubtedly the top OT prospect entering this season, could be a case of nitpicking a high profile prospect. His 2015 and 2016 film was outstanding. If that's the player you're expecting to get, he was definitely a steal at 50.
 
Nice to read.

But how’s he graded as a Guard since that’s where he will be for us.

We definitely needed an answer on the line. And his ability to play Tackle may be needed if Tyron Smith continues his rapid deterioration.
 
TheFinisher said:
I think it was a combination of the injury/missed time and an underwhelming combine. Teams can overthink the measurables and with Williams once it started to become apparent he may not be a LT at the next level that undoubtedly affects the value of the player. In his case, since they haven't seen him play inside that projection may make some teams hesitant when there were other good guard prospects in the class who weren't coming off a disappointing season.

But he was undoubtedly the top OT prospect entering this season, could be a case of nitpicking a high profile prospect. His 2015 and 2016 film was outstanding.
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i can understand other teams being reluctant to project a OT to guard but not this one.
 
big dog cowboy said:
McShay said last year he would have been a top 15 pick and next year he would have been a top 10 pick.

The Cowboys flat out STOLE him at 50.
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This year was definitely the lowest his stock could have been, which is interesting that he would choose to come out but then again after having a knee scare I don't blame him.
 
kumizi said:
If he's healthy, he is a great value. TBD how his knee holds up.
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I don't think that should be an issue moving forward, it was a sprain. He probably wouldn't have came back at the end of the season if the team wasn't contending for a bowl, and I actually like the fact he cared enough about his teammates to know he was going to put film out there that would negatively impact his stock to help them achieve that goal.
 
I'd love the following line:

LT: Smith (Age 27)
LG: Collins (Age 24)
C: Frederick (Age 27)
RG: Martin (Age 27)
RT: Williams (Age 20)

5 nasty, big monsters, and non of them is even at their NFL Prime of 28-30. Blessed Samson! Great job by our front office to arrange the great wall of Texas, bigger than Trump's wall!
 
TheFinisher said:
This year was definitely the lowest his stock could have been, which is interesting that he would choose to come out but then again after having a knee scare I don't blame him.
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To be sure, he'll be obliged to bust his tail to return to form in a timely manner. He's a hard worker, so there's success to anticipate.

He has already stated in more than one or two interviews that he's 100% now. A big hurdle to overcome will be faith in his recovery.
 
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Everything sounds so great now and we got a top 10 talent at 50, but why haven't I heard anyone talk about this guy for the past few months when all I heard about was Nelson, Wynn, Hernandez, Daniels, Price? I'm not trying to hate but I'm trying to understand why this guy fell so far and didn't seem popular here but now everyone is calling him a complete steal.
 
Mookie said:
I'd love the following line:

LT: Smith (Age 27)
LG: Collins (Age 24)
C: Frederick (Age 27)
RG: Martin (Age 27)
RT: Williams (Age 20)

5 nasty, big monsters, and non of them is even at their NFL Prime of 28-30. Blessed Samson! Great job by our front office to arrange the great wall of Texas, bigger than Trump's wall!
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I'd like to keep Collins at RT for the sake of continuity and building chemistry with Martin, he definitely has the ability to be a very very good RT. Also Williams is probably the most mobile OL we have now outside of Tyron, and that will come in handy playing G.

I agree that the lineup you have would work as well, I just don't love the idea of constantly moving Collins back and forth.
 
TheFinisher said:
I don't think that should be an issue moving forward, it was a sprain. He probably wouldn't have came back at the end of the season if the team wasn't contending for a bowl, and I actually like the fact he cared enough about his teammates to know he was going to put film out there that would negatively impact his stock to help them achieve that goal.
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The reason he comeback was so he would not end his college career with an injury.
 
JoeyBoy718 said:
Everything sounds so great now and we got a top 10 talent at 50, but why haven't I heard anyone talk about this guy for the past few months when all I heard about was Nelson, Wynn, Hernandez, Daniels, Price? I'm not trying to hate but I'm trying to understand why this guy fell so far and didn't seem popular here but now everyone is calling him a complete steal.
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To be honest with you it was an out of sight out of mind thing for me. I didn't have as much time this year to dive into the draft (first child came last August), so outside of the guys linked to us in the 1st Round I didn't pay as much attention.

I also assume since he wasn't a name heavily linked to us, and was considered in that late 1st-early 2nd range, that many just didn't think of him as an option at 19 or 50. That happens every year to some degree, we typically gravitate towards the guys slotted somewhere around our picks even though it rarely plays out the way the mock drafts project.
 
TheFinisher said:
I'd like to keep Collins at RT for the sake of continuity and building chemistry with Martin, he definitely has the ability to be a very very good RT. Also Williams is probably the most mobile OL we have now outside of Tyron, and that will come in handy playing G.

I agree that the lineup you have would work as well, I just don't love the idea of constantly moving Collins back and forth.
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Mainly because as a Guard he was as nasty as a young Larry Allen, and Connor Williams is rated highly as a Tackle, so I would rather have two players in their most natural and strong position, versus shifting them and experimenting, especially with the running game we have.
 
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