Will The Kansas City Chiefs Draft A Cornerback In The First Round?
January 1, 2015; Pasadena, CA, USA; Florida State Seminoles defensive back P.J. Williams (26) in defense position against the Oregon Ducks in the 2015 Rose Bowl college football game at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
P.J. Williams – Florida State – 6’0″ 194 lbs
4.57 forty, 12 bench press reps, 40″ vertical, 4.28 20 yard shuttle
Of the five CBs that I’ve covered the one that you’ll probably see mocked in the first round the least is Florida State’s P.J. Williams. In fact, several experts don’t even think he’s the best CB prospect from his own school (more on the other guy in a minute). However, I’m actually a big fan of Williams and I’m not alone.
What Others Are Saying:
After seeing that the Kansas City Star‘s excellent beat writer, Terez Paylor, was also a big fan of Williams I decided to reach out to him to see what it was that he liked about the FSU corner. While he said he wasn’t completely done studying all the CBs yet, he did have this to say about Williams:
"Classic South Florida kid. Competitive and confident. Very willing tackler with lots of experience in press man. Long speed isn’t great but I like him anyway."
If for some crazy reason anyone reading this isn’t already following Terez on Twitter, you should fix that immediately(@TerezPaylor). Now back to Williams…
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com:
"Cover cornerback with the talent to play on an island, and the swagger to regroup and forget when beaten. Williams can cover outside or from the slot, and has potential to come in and start right away for an aggressive man-cover defense. With consistency of effort, Williams could become the best cornerback to come out of this draft."
What I Saw On Tape:
I watched Williams against Oklahoma State, Clemson, Virginia, and Louisville where he frequently matched up with DeVante Parker. I’m not going to go as far as saying that I think Williams is the best CB prospect of this group because that’s not what the tape necessarily shows. I will say that he’s one of my personal favorites for the Chiefs.
First off, he played alone on an island a lot and I think he could easily step into KC’s press man coverage and be comfortable (or at least as comfortable as a rookie CB in the NFL can be). Second, he’s very physical for a CB. He’ll have to be careful (similar to Peters) to not draw flags down the field, but he’s definitely not afraid to take guys on, be it WRs or on run defense. Florida State also liked to use Williams on CB blitzes and I think Bob Sutton might have fun unleashing him there as well. While he has his mistakes in coverage I don’t see much of a difference between the coverage skills of Waynes, Peters, Johnson, and Williams (with Collins a little behind the rest at this point).
In a perfect world, I’d love to see KC trade back a few spots, pick up an extra pick or two and take Williams in the late first round.
But what if KC doesn’t take a CB in the first round? If KC has a player they love at another position fall into their laps (fingers crossed for LSU tackle La’el Collins) but still feels they need to address the CB position I’ve included a little info on some possible 2nd round options.
Next: Click Here For Some 2nd Round Options