Todd McShay explains why Jameson Williams is a long-term value pick, how GMs will view him
By Keith Farner
Published:
Todd McShay has already projected Alabama WR Jameson Williams as the best wide receiver in this year’s NFL Draft class. Now he has gone into detail about how he sees Williams as a prospect, both from a short-term and long-term perspective.
“But here’s the deal. When you’re looking at Jameson Williams, you’re looking at or figuring, we don’t know what we’re going to get for the first year. But you’re betting on the four years after that. Because it’s a first-round pick, you get the fifth-year option,” McShay said on ESPN, via On3.
About 3 weeks ago, Williams received positive news a week after he had ACL surgery to repair the damage suffered in the national championship loss to Georgia.
McShay, and presumably some NFL general managers, will remember Williams’ elite speed, and how he could separate from defenders.
“And Jameson, he’s got different speed,” McShay said. “It’s different when you watch his tape compared to everybody else in this class. SEC defenders—he makes it look easy. The ball is in the air, he’s three yards in front of the defensive back and then he’s three years behind them in that one second span. And also, after the catch what he does. So, when healthy, he’s the best receiver in this class.”
McShay then talked a bit about the obvious reason why Williams’ draft stock slipped a little bit.
“He only falls because of that injury and the timing of it — coming in the national championship game,” he said. “Who knows what you’re going to get out of him as a rookie. Maybe he plays in the last six, seven, eight games. We don’t know. But you’re betting on those final four years.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
