Prospect Review: Mike Williams

Mike Williams was a prolific and dominant starting wide receiver from the University of Clemson. There, he had sone of the best 2016 seasons among wide receivers. He caught 98 passes for 1361 yards in 2016, along with winning the National Championship. He is a future first round pick, and considered by many to be the best wide receiver in this year’s NFL draft. He has stiff competition in both Corey Davis of Western Michigan, and John Ross of Washington, to be the first receiver taken off the board. He has a very good chance of being the first wide receiver taken, as he has a great upside and tons of potential.

Strengths

Mike Williams is an explosive weapon, with ability to make contested catches and big plays. This, compounded with his elite speed, gives him the ability to make down the field plays on a regular basis. Williams has a good build. At 6’4″, 218 pounds, his body size gives him the advantage on smaller defensive backs and other defenders. Not so surprisingly, Williams is able to break tackles with consistency. Many times he will shrug off the first would-be tackler, and continue on his way down the field. He also has experience in blocking, whether it be a running back or a quarterback running the ball. For the Ravens, it is important to have a receiver who can block for the run, as they try to revive a lost rushing attack. Finally, Williams comes from a program in Clemson, with a rich history, and much success. He has experience playing the best of the best in college, being to the College Football Playoffs twice, and winning the Championship in his final season with the Clemson Tigers.

Weaknesses

For all of Williams’ strengths as a pass catcher, he does have some major issues that must be addressed. First of these few weaknesses is his tendency to drop the ball. While watching his tape, I constantly saw plays where the ball was dropped. With many big play opportunities, Williams was just not able to capitalize on enough of them to give me confidence in him as a clutch player. Williams needs to clean up his drops in the next level, or else he won’t last very long there. His second major problem is his tendency to stumble after a catch. Although he does have the ability to escape and make a big play with his legs, he does seem to be more likely than others to stumble and fall. Finally, in 2015, he sustained a neck injury that sidelined him for almost all of the season. Although he stayed healthy for the 2016 campaign, Williams still has some concern about his health from NFL teams. Hopefully he can stay healthy and contribute to a team in the NFL.

His Fit on the Ravens

If the Baltimore Ravens do decide they want to draft Clemson wide receiver Mike Williams, they will need to do either one of two things. The first being to cross their fingers and hope he falls to them at #16 overall, or to do the second, to make the move up in the draft to snag him before anyone else can. After drafting him, the Ravens would instantly make him and Mike Wallace one of the best wide receiver combos in the NFL, and the most confusing for announcers to call. With Breshad Perriman and other receivers to go along with them, the Ravens may finally give Joe Flacco a receiver corps to work with.

Rating

Overall, I give Mike Williams a 4.6/5.0 Prospect Rating. His dominance at Clemson gave him a superstar status in college football. He has great size, speed, and big play ability, however, he does have issues with dropping the football and stumbling. If the Baltimore Ravens decide to draft him, they will create the best wide receiver corps since the 2012 Super Bowl run. Mike Williams would be a great addition to the Ravens roster, and in just 9 days, we will know which NFL team Williams will join for the 2017 season.