Aaron Williams
by seton hall and steelers on Feb 10, 2011 5:40 PM CST
Email
Print
I am putting together a scouting report on Aaron Williams. What are his strengths and weaknesses? How is his tackling? Can he jam receivers?
I have heard his draft stock ranging from the late first round to the mid second round. Which one sounds more realistic? From what I have seen I think he is more of a early to mid second round pick.
What is his one glaring weakness? Is he a team leader and how is his work ethic?
All comments, FanPosts, and FanShots are the views of the reader-authors who create them.
37 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I love to cheer for Longhorns in the NFL
And, I absolutely hope that he has great personal success. However, if my pro team, the Texans,draft him before the second round I will be hopping mad. He is a project and is not ready for the NFL in my opinion.
UT’s defense was not good this year and the secondary got ripped many a time. We played plenty of pass happy teams, and despite our secondary having no other ball hawks, A. Williams had ZERO interceptions. Enough said in my opinion. He is a 3rd rounder in my book, and I like the guy. Everyone else says he is a late first rounder, and he might be. But, I do not think he is NFL ready and he is no Earl Thomas. He has the potential, but it will take a few years.
He jumped early into a collective bargaining lockout and missed out on the chance to be an All American and learn from the great Jerry Gray. He is not that smart.
yup
missed out on the chance to be an All American and learn from the great Jerry Gray. He is not that smart.
1. He knew Gray was coming
2. His intelligence should be based on the decision to make money
Makes tons of sense.
by vy til i die on Feb 10, 2011 10:49 PM CST up reply actions
Not that smart
Feels like what he really meant was, “IMO that decision was not a good one, especially since it turns out Gray is here.”
Sometimes we type casually, like we would talk, and then when we are picked apart sentence by sentence, it is a pretty easy critique.
I am split on A. Will. Part of me thought after the way he played 2 years ago, he was on a “First Round” track. And so, I just naturally think he is that good because he was supposed to be.
Then I remember the dropped punts, and I look at his stats, and I am not nearly as impressed as I feel I should be.
At the same time, I have read from people who watch film with more football knowlege than me and they say he is that talented.
I wish him the best, though. .
"A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything, in swimming there is no easy way." - Eddie Reese
Agree.
He definitely has the talent to eventually turn into an NFL all-pro, however, he has a long way to go. No INTs and no consistency in returning punts were two big strikes against him. He’s not a shut-down corner, say, where teams avoid his side of the field. I didn’t even consider him the starter at corner since he never moved past Curtis & Chykie in three years of play. The NFL lockout looks bad. That alone makes this look like a bad decision, to me personally. Add in the facts that he’s losing a year of starting at UT & honing his skills, possibly being All-American & all-Big 12-2, working himself solidly into the 1st round – which means $millions$ more – being coached by the great Jerry Gray, helping out the comeback for UT football, and finishing out the scholarship he was offered. Still wish him the best, though. Seems like a good kid.
Then I remember the dropped punts, and I look at his stats, and I am not nearly as impressed as I feel I should be.
People seem to think this will factor in his evaluation. It just means that he won’t be doing that in the NFL.
by vy til i die on Feb 11, 2011 10:14 AM CST up reply actions
But that does factor in
If he had done well in all of those areas, he would be more valuable.
"A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything, in swimming there is no easy way." - Eddie Reese
None of us know for sure who knew what about the timinig of Gray
But, assuming Williams didn’t know about the Gray situation the thought of getting another year of coaching from Duane Akina would not have been a dumb decision.
Going into a potential and likely lockout is another not so smart move.
Now to contradict myself since I don’t know much about NFL salaries and how those contracts work, if there is a rookie salary cap coming for the 2012 draft would that explain Williams concern that he needed to jump now instead of next year?
His failure to execute 1 single interception is a gigantic red flag that, imo, should drop him into late second at best.
if there is a rookie salary cap coming for the 2012 draft would that explain Williams concern that he needed to jump now instead of next year?
I think so. Don’t have numbers in front of me but I believe I read that there was a record number of underclassmen declaring for the draft this year. You’d have to think they were getting advice to grab the money while they can.
Makes it tough though
Go for the money/contract but if there is a lockout they don’t get it until the deal is done. And, it is looking messier and messier for NFL. Billionaires vs Millionaires. And we, the fans, are the losers.
I Like Him
The kid is a baller. Solid tackler, shut down corner, super athletic. Go look at his interception vs. OU in 2009 – tells you all you need to know. Maybe 2 or 3 guys in the country get that one. Take his forty time and round it. If you round to 4.5 he mid to late 2nd. If you round to 4.4 he is late first to mid second.
Note to Bill Byrne "Because you aren´t Texas and you´ll never be Texas"
A Williams
He’s a sure-fire #1, as close of a can’t miss prospect as they come. He’s got good size, he’s a good tackler – played nickel back in Muschamp’s system and usually had the toughest assignment of chasing crossing patterns. He’s got no picks in 2010 because he’s rarely thrown at and most teams could play conservative offense with few 3rd and Longs. In 3 years, he’s been burned once – by an eye lash on a perfectly thrown ball to Justin Blackmon.
He’s fast enough, but may not have elite speed for the NFL. Would need to learn proper zone coverage skills. He’s a 10-year starter in the league. Would not use as return specialist. Could have some years as a shut-down pro bowl corner.
These thoughts
are exactly what I fell like I should think about A. Will. Watching him blanket recievers, I feel like he did that well. That should be enough. I don’t really know why I am not as high on him now.
Maybe its just that my subconscience is mad at him for dropping punts and having no int’s, while our offense was one that desperately needed good field position and turnovers.
"A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything, in swimming there is no easy way." - Eddie Reese
So I guess really
Its Greg Davis’ fault!!
"A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything, in swimming there is no easy way." - Eddie Reese
Everything was Greg's fault.
We are now poised to win the NC in 2011!
See ya later, alligator.
by Paleface Horn on Feb 11, 2011 10:25 AM CST up reply actions
So, what is ol' GD doing nowadays?
Did he get a coaching gig somewhere?
Haven't heard a word.
Wikipedia lists his current position title as “going left to right.”
See ya later, alligator.
by Paleface Horn on Feb 11, 2011 10:45 AM CST up reply actions
Surprised to see so many mixed opinions
I personally like AW mostly because of his versatility. I think when he first comes in he’ll cover the slot and eventually play outside. He has good recovery speed, and from what I have seen of him is not afraid to play physical. He has good instincts when blitzing off the corner and will come up to make tackles on RBs. On the downside, I think he gets caught looking inside too much, but that is probably more due to his confidence in his ability to make up ground if a receiver gets behind him. When facing elite speedy WRs that won’t work and will be a habit he needs to break before being trusted by NFL coaches.
I don’t think looking at his INT totals is good indicator of his play, it’s not uncommon for stud corners to have low INT numbers, because teams will usually shy away from throwing to that side of the field. In fact, Raiders CB, Nnamdi Asomugha didn’t have a single pick this year. Not that I am comparing him to Asomugha, just making a point about interception totals.
With that said, do I think he warrants a top 20 pick? No. That’s not all a bad thing, most NFL teams only give out about 20 first round grades anyways, so even if he is taken in the latter part of the first round that would essentially mean he has a 2nd round grade on most boards. By the way, I hope he sticks around until the Cowboys second round pick.
Int #'s
His chances of interceptions were limited due to limited oppotunities. He could be the Top CB in the draft and is comparable to Prince and Patterson. He shouldn’t have his stock drop because of the personnel behind him.
Reviewing game tape
I have not reviewed any game tape and cannot remember if he dropped balls that should have been intercepted (hmmmGideonhhhhmm) but the 0 is going to be something all NFL teams explore. Was it really 0 because he was just so darn good in coverage? Maybe so.
He dropped one
The first game, I believe. Should have been a pick-6. However, it is also true that his opportunities were limited because most teams stayed away from, at least before he started having some injury issues. A good example of this would be the Baylor game; the Bears ignored Curtis and AW for the most part and attacked our safeties.
by TheElusiveShadow on Feb 11, 2011 3:13 PM CST up reply actions
That's one of the frustrating things about football
is the lack of advanced stats, especially for positions like cornerback. We could all have 10 different opinions on his ability, and there may be some truth in each of them, but it would be nice if we could just point to a couple advanced stats to better accurately judge a player.
I just feel like one day we will look back and laugh that we used INTs as some sort of measuring stick about a cornerback’s ability, much in the same way we laugh at people in baseball who still try to use a player’s runs scored as evidence of their talent. (looking at you Derek Jeter supporters)
by Hookem4life84 on Feb 11, 2011 4:39 PM CST up reply actions
Don't have the game tapes to research ...
… but I remember often that the receiver he was covering would get the catch on several short & long plays, at least once per game. He may have had a few less opportunities for INTs because he was above-average in coverage but he was definitely not a shut-down corner or even a CB that teams avoided his side of the field. I certainly wouldn’t put him ahead of Curtis Brown so I know teams weren’t avoiding either side of the field. If they were avoiding him, it was because the safeties were so subpar in coverage that they decided to abuse the middle of the field, not because AW was a lockdown cover guy. I love watching him, mind you, but I certainly don’t think he’s a “take” in the 1st or 2nd round of the draft. But I definitely think he’s a guy that will turn out to be a top-tier cover guy in the NFL eventually. And I really think it won’t happen any earlier than if he would stay in school for his senior year.
I'd be a little surprised if Williams dropped beyond the 2nd
It depends on your definition of a lockdown corner (and really, any cornerback, including Champ Bailey, will get burned). As I watched Williams, he was always very solid when he was healthy. This is, of course, all anecdotal, and I have no desire to rewatch any of our games last year.
by TheElusiveShadow on Feb 11, 2011 10:20 PM CST up reply actions
Neither do I.
All that being said, I do agree with someone comment earlier. That A.Will sideline INT against ou was a thing of beauty. He may have been the only DB in the country that could have made that play. He may have had an arguably average-to-great individual year on an average-to-bad team this season but he certainly has tremendous upside as a senior Longhorn or a professional.
I don't know; Texas spent an awful lot of time playing defense this season
Just Harsin around.
by burntorangehorn on Feb 11, 2011 7:39 PM CST up reply actions
And in most games save a few, getting run at over and over again
Given his opportunities, Williams should probably have at least one or two picks. I wouldn’t have expected any more than that judging by how this season progressed, especially after receiving a knockout blow from Gideon.
by TheElusiveShadow on Feb 11, 2011 10:16 PM CST up reply actions
What's not to like?
Nickel here, from BC. I watched every longhorn game twice and don’t see any substantial flaws in AJ’s game. Beyond the play where he was beat by a perfect throw and future first rounder Blackmon he was not targeted successfully much at all.
His stats are actually pretty solid this year: 54 tackles, 5 TFL from a corner is impressive, dude also broke up 12 passes and forced 3 fumbles.
Anyone pay attention to what the Packers accomplished playing nickel with Woodson inside? You get a guy that can lock down on a slot, blitz inside and handle the run and you have a very valuable player. Williams can do all of those things.
Corner and safety are very different positions, Earl wouldn’t have had 8 picks playing corner, teams would have stopped throwing anywhere near him. At safety he was almost unavoidable.
Teams avoided Aaron in favor of our safeties and linebackers and generally preferred to take deep shots at Chykie if at any of our corners even though Curtis and Aaron were sometimes on islands. Dude is a first rounder in talent, no doubt.
As of right now
And for what it’s worth, McShay of ESPN currently has Williams as an early second rounder “on the fringe” of first round.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/blog?name=nfl_draft&id=6108166 ($). Says the critique of his play against Blackmon is overrated, he would help his stock tremendously to run sub 4.5 at the combine, and he would be a good pickup to help the Steelers.
Aaron Williams is a solid 1st-round pick.
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Burnt Orange Nation
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
