D.K. Metcalf earned the right to be dubbed “freak of the Combine.” The former Ole Miss receiver put up unbelievable numbers that all but confirmed that the viral photo of the 227-pound prospect’s superhero physique wasn’t just for show.

But what Quinnen Williams did at the Combine — with his 303-pound frame — was plenty freakish, too.

The Alabama defensive tackle entered the week as a possible top-3 pick, and if anything, the case for Williams to come off the board at No. 1 just got stronger. In my opinion, he won’t because of the nature of the quarterback position, but man, Williams just continues to blow me away.

It probably would have been easy for Williams to take the Combine somewhat lightly given that the All-American earned Pro Football Focus’ highest grade ever for a defensive player. Williams probably could have gone the Kyler Murray route of not really competing in any drills and his draft stock wouldn’t have changed very much.

Clearly, though, that wasn’t his mindset in Indianapolis. Like, at all.

Williams’ 40-yard dash was a microcosm of his weekend. On his first running, Williams recorded a 4.87-second unofficial time. It was an incredible time for a 300-pound dude who looks every bit like an NFL-ready defensive tackle. In fact, his agent even advised him not to run the 40 again.

Then what happened? Williams one-upped himself with a 4.83.

That was the fastest time for a 300-pound prospect since 2012, and it was the fourth-fastest time for a 300-pounder since 2003. That headlined what turned out to be yet another banner weekend for Williams (it got lost in the shuffle that he surpassed a 30-inch vertical at 303 pounds).

With all the buzz that Murray is going to generate in the coming months, Williams might get lost in the shuffle, too. We won’t dissect his next-level prospects like Murray because of the position he plays.

But if you’re waiting for Williams to disappoint, it seems like that ship has sailed.

Everything he did after he got the opportunity to start following the early NFL departure of Da’Ron Payne suggests that he’s ready to take the NFL by storm, too. The season Williams had was probably downplayed a touch because it no longer stands out when an Alabama defensive tackle dominates en route to All-America honors.

Williams is starting to make me wonder if we’re looking at the next Aaron Donald. And while it’ll take a long time before Williams accomplishes what Donald has — 4 first-team All-Pro honors in his first 5 seasons — what’s to say he won’t become that?

Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

If you recall, Donald set the record for the 40-yard dash by a defensive tackle with a 4.68. That was after a season in which he won nearly every major defensive award.

So how high did Donald go? He was picked No. 13 overall. Williams, barring some unforeseen development will go closer to No. 1 than No. 13. And if he doesn’t, it’ll be baffling. But I just don’t get what more a defensive tackle prospect can possibly do.

To make an NBA comparison, he’s almost like an Anthony Davis. The former Kentucky star was a point guard until high school before hitting a growth spurt that took him just shy of 7 feet. He developed all the ball-handling skills needed to make him an extremely rare combination of size and skill.

Williams developed all the necessary pass-rushing skills as a defensive end before switching to defensive tackle full-time at Alabama. He’s 40 pounds heavier than when he signed as a 4-star recruit in Alabama’s 2016 class, when he was viewed as a bit of a tweener in terms of playing end and nose tackle.

Now, it’s pretty clear that a team is going to stick Williams in the middle of their defensive line from the jump. There’s no guarantee that Williams will take over games like he did at Alabama, but he figures to have such high floor because of how special he is as a run-stopper and as a pass-rusher.

It’ll be interesting to see how high Williams goes in the draft. For all the great defensive line talent Alabama produced in the Nick Saban era — 15 total were drafted and 7 came off the board in the first 2 rounds — Marcell Dareus was the only one selected in the top 10.

Like Williams, Dareus was a Birmingham native who spent 3 years in Tuscaloosa playing defensive end and nose tackle. Dareus has enjoyed a solid NFL career with a couple of Pro Bowl nods and an All-Pro selection. He’s easily been Saban’s best pro defensive lineman.

Williams’ ceiling is higher than that.

The Combine didn’t serve as a coming-out party for Williams. His entire 2018 season did that. What the Combine did was confirm that the 1-year starter was indeed the motivated, physical freak that scouts saw on tape. The guy who had a recruiting bio that read “a big kid who can run” is still that 3 years later.

No matter where Williams winds up, he doesn’t deserve to get lost in the shuffle. He’s not just another elite Alabama defensive lineman. He’s even more special than any who have come before him. Whoever drafts Williams will find that out firsthand.

And so will whoever has to block him.