Sports Science: Sylvester Williams

[DFWJC]

These Sports Science pieces can be fun.

I know there are avrying views on Sylvester Williams--who is now rated in the top 20 on almost all draft analysts rankings--so I thought I'd post the latest Sports Science special on Sly.


http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=9187247


They were impressed with his size, speed and power.

His 10 yard burst was as good as the RBs they tested (including some of the really fast guys)....and he was 323 lbs.

His reaction time off the snap count was extreme. .29 seconds, compared to .48 seconds for the average (which includes CBs and RBs).

His final impact force after going through the heavy bags to get a QB was >2100 lbs. Most force of all players tested. Incredible.

He also had one of the top Wonderlic scores.

This is just one more set of data to lump in with the other stuff used for eval.

Sports Science projects players and put Williams below Suh but ahead of Fairley and Brockers...on par with 3 time Pro Bowler Darnell Docket.

I want Cooper, Warmack, Richardson all ahead of him, but if Dallas ends up with Sly Williams in Rd 1, it would neither overly disappoint nor suprise me. I used to say, get him in a trade down to the early 20s, but I'm not so sure now.

 

[Risen Star]

He's a beast. The only downside is he's a little older but I think he's the most NFL ready DT in this draft.

 

[Aven8]

I feel sorry for the dummy they used as a QB! Geez this kid is a beast. How old is he RS?

 

[Machete]

Born November 21, 1988 (age 24)

 

[Risen Star]

I feel sorry for the dummy they used as a QB! Geez this kid is a beast. How old is he RS?

Iowa beat me to it. 24. He's a couple years older than the usual draft prospect.

It's up to you how much you downgrade him for that.

 

[Avery]

I consider Williams in my nightmare scenario. Nightmare scenario is essentially Cooper, Warmack, Vacarro and Richardson all off the board.

 

[Gaede]

I'm liking Williams more and more. Richardson has the speed and hustle behind him, but there are many plays where he's just a non-factor. Totally wiped out of the play. And you look at his build--he's got these small narrow hips--he doesn't even look like a DT.

As mentioned, Williams is overaged. But that doesn't really bother me all that much. I like the player.

 

[Avery]

I'm liking Williams more and more. Richardson has the speed and hustle behind him, but there are many plays where he's just a non-factor. Totally wiped out of the play. And you look at his build--he's got these small narrow hips--he doesn't even look like a DT.

As mentioned, Williams is overaged. But that doesn't really bother me all that much. I like the player.

If you think Richardson is streaky, just watch Williams. Extremely hot and cold.

 

[Gaede]

If you think Richardson is streaky, just watch Williams. Extremely hot and cold.

Not streaky, I just mean he's easily blocked. There's no question about his effort. I'm just concerned with how easily he can be taken out of the play

 

[9darter]

Iowa beat me to it. 24. He's a couple years older than the usual draft prospect.

It's up to you how much you downgrade him for that.

Yeah. Originally I gave him a late first round grade. I might adjust that to mid first round. As you hinted, it has to count for something how ready he is.

I'm OK with this guy at 18.

 

[honyock]

Yeah. Originally I gave him a late first round grade. I might adjust that to mid first round. As you hinted, it has to count for something how ready he is.

I'm OK with this guy at 18.

Me too. I'm suspecting that he may be gone by 18. I think theres a better Chance that Warmack will be there at than Williams will.

 

[Eskimo]

The only thing with the age factor is that we do have 4 guys who can play next year (Rat, Hatcher, Crawford and Lissemore) and may even be able to get back Brent for the 2014 season (well, it's conceivable anyways). So I don't value that at a super high level.

I don't think for the rookie contract of 5 years I'd be worried about his age. As for his second deal he would be 29 at the end of his first deal and if in good health I don't see a major reason that he couldn't play 3-4 more years at a high level but I wouldn't want to do a 5 or 6 year deal on him at that point. I do think on this basis as well as the fact that he has reached near full potential as a power player whereas some of the younger players could be expected to develop a bit more you do have to downgrade him some.

I'd be okay with Williams but only after Cooper, Richardson and D. Jones. I'm also not necessarily in favor of drafting him over Werner or Carradine as I think Spencer is not going to sign a long-term deal and will be a URFA again next year. At that point we'll only have the ageing and injured Demarcus Ware under contract at DE. So given his age and our DE depth chart unless he is clearly ranked much higher than the DEs I'd prefer to sign one of the DEs. Signing one of the DEs will also let Jerry let go of Spencer and free up $11M of cap space to spend elsewhere.

In the end, I think I'd prefer D. Jones due to his versatility and quickness but I"d be okay with Sly in a trade down to the mid to late 20s where I think he'd represent good value.

 

[Eskimo]

It's too bad the sports science guys aren't designing the Combine athletic tests. I think they'd generate a more relevant data set than the current Combine format is producing for the teams.

 

[Gaede]

Yeah, can't say I'd be opposed to Jones either. Would love to have seen him do one of these sports science segments--seeing he did so well at the combine. Reminds me of Greg Ellis, for some reason.

 

[AsthmaField]

The only thing with the age factor is that we do have 4 guys who can play next year (Rat, Hatcher, Crawford and Lissemore) and may even be able to get back Brent for the 2014 season (well, it's conceivable anyways). So I don't value that at a super high level.

I don't think for the rookie contract of 5 years I'd be worried about his age. As for his second deal he would be 29 at the end of his first deal and if in good health I don't see a major reason that he couldn't play 3-4 more years at a high level but I wouldn't want to do a 5 or 6 year deal on him at that point. I do think on this basis as well as the fact that he has reached near full potential as a power player whereas some of the younger players could be expected to develop a bit more you do have to downgrade him some.

I'd be okay with Williams but only after Cooper, Richardson and D. Jones. I'm also not necessarily in favor of drafting him over Werner or Carradine as I think Spencer is not going to sign a long-term deal and will be a URFA again next year. At that point we'll only have the ageing and injured Demarcus Ware under contract at DE. So given his age and our DE depth chart unless he is clearly ranked much higher than the DEs I'd prefer to sign one of the DEs. Signing one of the DEs will also let Jerry let go of Spencer and free up $11M of cap space to spend elsewhere.

In the end, I think I'd prefer D. Jones due to his versatility and quickness but I"d be okay with Sly in a trade down to the mid to late 20s where I think he'd represent good value.

Yeah, while I do really like Williams, I think Datone Jones is just a perfect fit for what this team is going to be doing along the DL. His ability to provide stout run support at DE and super-athletic pass rush skills at the 3-tech spot would provide not only a better pass rush than Williams, but much more versatility along the entire line.

To give Ware a break, just move Spencer over to the weakside and move Jones in at Strongside DE. That along with Hatcher and Ratliff should be very solid against the run and still would provide a push to get to the passer, even with Ware getting a breather.

To rest Spencer, Jones would simply move in at SDE.

In certain passing situations, Ware and Spencer at the DE spots along with Jones and Ratliff at DT would provide the best pass rush and could put a lot of pressure on OL's.

I like Sheldon Richardson so much because he has the quickness to play the 3-tech like Sapp did for Kiffin. However, Jones has much more quickness and explosiveness to his game than Richardson, and would provide an even better pass rush when he is playing the 3-tech spot. The only difference is that Jones wouldn't be a full time DT and would spend a lot of his time playing DE.

With the no huddle and Philly's new high tempo offense, I think a DL rotation is going to be vital going forward and Jones would be a big part of that at both DE and DT.

A perfect fit here IMO.

 

[DFWJC]

It's too bad the sports science guys aren't designing the Combine athletic tests. I think they'd generate a more relevant data set than the current Combine format is producing for the teams.

This.....

 

[TheCount]

I personally wouldn't mind Williams at 18 if the prime options are exhausted, I think he's one of the more underrated prospects in this draft. I think one of his draw backs, however, is that he's kind of got the mentality of a finesse guy - especially considering his size. Not necessarily a bad thing, but he's not a mauler.

 

[honyock]

The only thing with the age factor is that we do have 4 guys who can play next year (Rat, Hatcher, Crawford and Lissemore) and may even be able to get back Brent for the 2014 season (well, it's conceivable anyways). So I don't value that at a super high level.

I don't think for the rookie contract of 5 years I'd be worried about his age. As for his second deal he would be 29 at the end of his first deal and if in good health I don't see a major reason that he couldn't play 3-4 more years at a high level but I wouldn't want to do a 5 or 6 year deal on him at that point. I do think on this basis as well as the fact that he has reached near full potential as a power player whereas some of the younger players could be expected to develop a bit more you do have to downgrade him some.

I'd be okay with Williams but only after Cooper, Richardson and D. Jones. I'm also not necessarily in favor of drafting him over Werner or Carradine as I think Spencer is not going to sign a long-term deal and will be a URFA again next year. At that point we'll only have the ageing and injured Demarcus Ware under contract at DE. So given his age and our DE depth chart unless he is clearly ranked much higher than the DEs I'd prefer to sign one of the DEs. Signing one of the DEs will also let Jerry let go of Spencer and free up $11M of cap space to spend elsewhere.

In the end, I think I'd prefer D. Jones due to his versatility and quickness but I"d be okay with Sly in a trade down to the mid to late 20s where I think he'd represent good value.

I agree with you about the need at DE, but the situation at tackle may not be much better. One or both of Ratliff and Hatcher may be gone next year and both are on the wrong side of 30. We don't know yet where they're going to put Crawford in this 4-3.

Mainly, I hope we stick with our board on this. If one of Werner or Carradine or Williams is at a higher tier than the others, then take him.