2015 NFL Draft Prospect Preview: Karlos Williams, RB, Florida State

Nov 30, 2013; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles running back Karlos Williams (9) runs with the ball against the Florida Gators during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida State Seminoles defeated the Florida Gators 37-7. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Florida State roster is replete with NFL talent, not the least of which comes from the running back position. We saw Devonta Freeman and James Wilder Jr. move on this past offseason, and this year’s lead ball carrier should be senior Karlos Williams, who is the subject of this scouting notebook.

A former defensive bac, Williams plays with physicality and has phenomenal size. At 6’1″ 220 pounds, he’s not built too unlike one Adrian Peterson, though he has quite a way to go before I compare the two.

Williams as a running back is a combination of size, power, speed, cutback ability, and an overall physical style. It’s impressive to see a guy of his size cut and move around like he does, but it’s Florida State so I shouldn’t be surprised.

He is a back with thick, strong legs, and he uses that lower body strength to keep his legs churning at the end of plays to pick up extra yardage and to make it a chore for defenders to have to bring him down.

Being that he’s still pretty raw to the running back position, he sometimes doesn’t follow the play as it’s drawn up and will cutback as a way of trying to make something out of what initially appears to be nothing, when he should demonstrate more patience in letting the lanes open up. However, you don’t want to discourage his cutbacks because he’s able to make things happen and burst into the second and third level when he can create an opening that way.

When Williams hits the hole with momentum, he gets to the third level of defense in a hurry. His straight line speed for a bigger tailback is really impressive, and I can’t wait to see what improvements he makes over the course of the 2014 season and leading into his NFL career.

Because he was the third team tailback at FSU this past season, he’s going to have a pretty underrated start to the year in terms of his NFL Draft stock, but I’m telling you right now to keep an eye on this guy. His size, speed, and playmaking ability are all traits that give him the look of a future featured NFL running back.

Here’s a video cutup of a handful of games featuring Williams from the 2013 season at Florida State courtesy of the great folks at DraftBreakdown.com.