Leonard Williams: USC DT Could See NFL Draft Day Slide
By Joe Wedra
In every mock draft you’ll see leading up to the 2015 NFL Draft, USC DT Leonard Williams is taking one of the top spots. Many hold Williams’ stock extremely high — including myself. I had him going #4 to the Raiders in my first mock of the season, and think is talent once he hits the line of scrimmage is tremendous.
At the end of the day, he’s an athletic freak that is going to be taken in the first round. However, if you’re a fan of a team sitting a bit further back in the draft this year, don’t think you don’t have a chance at grabbing the Southern California standout.
A “draft day slide” is possible for more reasons than one.
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Scouts will love him for everything he has to offer, but NFL teams may pinpoint his often worrisome first step. He’s clearly slower off the ball than most explosive defensive tackles, something that shows too often when you’re breaking down the tape.
Granted, his size and crazy strength help him still defeat most offensive linemen at the college level. At the end of the day, teams will have to decide if the problem is small enough to ignore. They know that giving an offensive lineman an extra step on any play can cause many problems — even for elite athletes like Williams.
The first step issue may be minor, but the “team need” issue could be the biggest reason for a potential slide.
Imagine this scenario…
1. TB – Mariota
2. TEN – Winston
3. JAX – Randy Gregory or OT need
4. OAK – Amari Cooper
5. WAS – Landon Collins or EDGE need
Suddenly, in a scenario that makes perfect sense, Williams slips out of the top-five with everything on the table as the New York Jets hit the clock at 6. It might not be a monumental slide, but what if “team need” trumps everything else?
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has Williams slipping to 5 with Washington. If it happened and Washington decided to go after another need, teams later in the top-10 might have a reason to move up a few spots for a scenario they never saw coming.
It would take a few surprises, but there’s no reason to believe teams like the Jets or Chicago Bears won’t have a chance to grab the steal of the 2015 NFL Draft.