Early NFL Draft Scouting: D’haquille Williams, WR, Auburn
If you look at him from a distance, Auburn Tigers wide receiver D’haquille Williams, AKA “Duke” looks sort of like Cam Newton wearing that No. 1 jersey. The former junior college All-American came to the Auburn program last season and had a nice rookie campaign with the team, showing big play ability with 45 catches for 733 yards and five touchdowns, averaging over 16 yards per reception.
Listed at 6-2, 224 pounds, Williams is an intriguing blend of size, speed, athleticism, and run after the catch ability. I knew he would be a fun study, so I took to watching three games of his on Draft Breakdown to get a good early look at a prospect who could very well be one of the top players at his position for the 2016 NFL Draft.
Here are the video cutups I watched of Williams:
Observations
- There’s obviously plenty to like about Williams. First and foremost, I think he’s a great mismatch playing out of the slot, which you see plenty here. I would like to see him win some matchups on the outside as well, but he was so strong from the slot it was probably best Auburn put him there so often.
- Williams’ hands engulf the football. He allows plenty of passes to get into his body, which I didn’t really like, but that can be corrected over time. It’s just not a great habit to have. Most of the time, though he uses his mitts to snatch the ball from the air, and he almost looks like he’s holding a Nerf football in his hand.
- You have to love the size/speed/length of this player. He has all of the physical tools you would want in a wide receiver prospect. I mentioned he’s 6-2, 224, as listed on the Auburn site. Even if he checks in at 6-1, 220, that’s pretty solid.
- Really good speed. He didn’t run many complicated routes on those cutups we watched above, but he certainly has speed and quickness. He can make people miss in a variety of ways.
- Not a very active participant as a blocker from what I could see in those three games. Not all receivers are, but we watched Evan Engram from Ole Miss, granted, a tight end by trade, but just to even see that kind of effort from Williams would have been nice. He didn’t show much here.
- Obviously a very raw player when it comes to the competition level. Another year with the Auburn program should do wonders for the way NFL teams evaluate him.
Overall
Williams made plenty of plays last year based on athleticism and physical superiority. He’s obviously a talented receiver, now it’s time to put it all together and start to learn nuances of the game, start to out-smart your opponent. Auburn’s offense isn’t like Alabama’s which caters to the NFL scouts, but that’s okay. We could see an expanded route tree from Williams this year and I’d be okay with that.
I think D’haquille Williams has got a chance to be a top 64 selection if we see big strides.