Potential Atlanta Falcons First Round Pick: Greedy Williams

Combine Results

Andraez Williams has rare length for an NFL cornerback, as he measured 6’2″ at the NFL Combine. He also has the arm length to match, with arms that measured 31.5 inches. Even more rare, is the fact that Andraez has the speed to combine with his length. He ran a 4.37 in the 40 yard dash. This placed him in a tie with Mark Fields of Clemson for second place among defensive backs. Only Jamel Dean of Auburn ran a faster time than Williams among defensive backs. After suffering cramps following the impressive run, Greedy did not participate in the remaining events of the Combine. Take a look at the official combine results via NFL.com by clicking here.

Greedy Williams can be seen running the 40 yard dash at the 6:49 mark of this video, by way of the NFL YouTube channel.

Strengths

Greedy Williams has a rare combination of length and speed, that allows him the potential to match up with the large, fast wide receivers of today’s NFL, like few cornerbacks can. He is a fluid athlete, with good hip movement. His length allows him to be a good press coverage cornerback, with the potential to become an elite press corner at the next level. Yet Williams also has the speed to run with wide receivers after the release.

Greedy Williams has good instincts and a nose for the football. He is a ball hawk that does a great job of working his way into position. When he gets into position, he attacks the ball as a wide receiver would. He has good hands, both when catching the ball, and when hand fighting in press coverage. Williams also possess great recovery speed in the times he is beaten at the line of scrimmage. Williams has great timing as well. He used that timing, combined with his long arms to break up an exorbitant amount of passes in college.

Andraez Williams is a very confident player, who won’t hesitate to get into a trash talking match on the field against opposing receivers. He also has good play recognition. Andraez is rarely way out of position. His wingspan aids in his ability to man a large area in zone coverage. He also does a great job at pinning his receivers to the sidelines. Greedy has the potential to be a number one cornerback for an NFL roster. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com compares Greedy to former Chargers cornerback Antoine Cason. Read his bio and scouting report on Williams here.

Weaknesses

Though Greedy Williams posses immense potential, he is far from a finished product. Williams will need to develop his game in several areas. Though he posses the potential to be an elite press coverage cornerback, he is not there yet. His main issue in that regard, is he too often allows wide receivers to get an inside release. He is also susceptible to being knocked off the line off scrimmage by wide receivers, due to a lack of strength. Getting stronger will be key to Greedy taking the next step in press coverage.

There are a few routes that Andraez Williams has a difficult time defending, particularly back sounder fades and comeback routes. Andraez does a good job at breaking back to those routers when he has the proper footwork. The problem is, Greedy often does not use the proper footwork. He must improve in this aspect, if he is to become dominant. The lack of good footwork and the fact that his long strides prevent him from changing direction very quickly, means that Greedy is not suited to play the slot position for an extended period of time. He primarily played the left cornerback position at LSU. Williams is extremely aggressive and can sometimes use his hands too much, when attempting to get in position to make a play on the football. This results in some frustrating, preventable downfield penalties. In zone coverage, he can sometimes be slower to react to some route concepts.

The most glaring weakness in the game of Greedy Williams is run defense. On film, Williams can be seen making “business decisions” to shy away from contact. He almost never squares up and hits a ball carrier. Reaching tackles and diving tackles, are Williams’ preferred methods of bringing down ball carriers. Greedy is sometimes successful at making tackles this way, particularly dive tackles. This is mainly due to his reach. However the cornerback quite often is unsuccessful and left grasping for air. Maybe Williams was afraid to injure himself before making it to the NFL level and will put his nose in the fray more often, now that he is in the league. It is a must that Williams improve in the area of run defense and willingness to get in the mix. If not, teams are sure to target him with their outside run game.

The Draft Network analysts Joe Marino, Jon Ledyard, Kyle Crabbs and Brad Kelly compiled this complete Greedy Williams scouting report. In the article, Kyle Crabbs offers Darius Slay, as an NFL companion for Greedy Williams. Brad Kelly offers this summary of Williams:

"Williams has intriguing tools for the NFL level. With a combination of man and zone coverage ability as well as plus ball skills, he has all the necessary tools to be a versatile coverage cornerback in the NFL. His tackling and run support needs to improve, as he could become a liability for whichever defense drafts him. Williams could stand to gain some strength to round out his frame, but his length, size and athleticism gives him a high ceiling. He will be a candidate to be one of the first cornerbacks off of the board during the NFL draft."

Pro Football Focus presents this breakdown of the skill set Greedy Williams has, on their YouTube channel: