2019 NFL Draft: RB Trayveon Williams has long time NFL starter qualities

1,760 rushing yards and 18 rushing TDs. Both numbers led the SEC in 2018. Both numbers were set by Texas A&M RB Trayveon Williams.

School: Texas A&M

Year: Junior

Height: 5’8″

Weight: 206 lbs

Trayveon Williams played against the best competition College Football had to offer. It’s tough to play in the SEC, yet Williams dominated on the ground. His 1,760 rushing yards and 18 TDs led the SEC. Factor in his 3,615 career rushing yards and 34 TDs, and Williams looks even more impressive.

Williams isn’t being considered one of the top RBs in the 2019 NFL Draft. Despite that, he holds several qualities of a long time NFL starter. He can do all the necessary work a three down RB needs to in order to be successful.

After proving himself for three seasons against the SEC, Williams knows what it takes to be successful against top level competition. The NFL will be tougher, but let’s take a look at the qualities Williams holds that should help him have a smooth transition to the pros.

Strengths:

• Big play ability

Williams not only led the SEC in rushing, but he led the SEC in runs of 10 or more yards. Williams carried the ball more than 10 yards on 57 rushes last season. No other RB in the SEC was even close to Williams, as Benny Snell Jr. came in second with 38. Williams carried the ball for 10 or more yards 19 more times than any other RB in the SEC. That’s some impressive running.

NFL teams will love Williams because of his big play ability. A RB who makes big plays stays on the field. Williams’ number of rushes of 10 yards or more is even more impressive because he did it against the best competition College Football has to offer. The competition he went against is the closest thing to the NFL. He should be able to take his big play ability and translate it over to the pros.

• Pass protection

"“I like him. He’s gettin’ it. I’ll tell you what he’s been very impressive with: his pass blocking. Stepping up and hitting guys right in the mouth now. Playing, trying to be physical that way.”"

That quote came from Head Coach Jimbo Fisher back in spring while talking about what impressed him most about Williams.

Despite his lack of size, Williams is a very good blocker. As Jimbo Fisher said, he’s physical. It’s hard to pass protect as an RB, especially with smaller size, but Williams doesn’t care. Williams is not afraid to pick up blitzing rushers and give them a nice hit. He’s right up there with the best blocking RBs I’ve seen. Check out some of his blocking in the following video.

His ability to pass protect is a strength that will keep Williams around in the NFL for a long time. For Williams to get on the field early, pass protection is a great way to do so, but it will also keep him on the field for many years to come.

• Experience as a receiver

By looking at the receiving stats Williams put up at Texas A&M, you’re not going to be blown away. However, his receiving stats are better than most of the RBs in this draft class. It just seems like RBs aren’t heavily used in the passing game all over College Football anymore.

In three seasons, Williams recorded 66 receptions for 561 yards and one TD. I think what I like most about Williams as a receiver, is that he improved in that area every season at Texas A&M. In 2016, Williams recorded 19 receptions for 91 yards. In 2017, he recorded 20 receptions for 192 yards. Then in 2018, Williams recorded 27 receptions for 278 yards and one TD.

One of the reasons for his improvement in the passing game is because he was more frequently used in that area. He has experience coming out of the backfield and lining up as a receiver, which will greatly benefit him in the NFL. Being able to pass protect is great, but it’s even better when a pass protecting RB can also be a receiving threat. That will make defenders have to account for Williams at all times. The following video gives you just a little taste of what that might look like.

• Works well in small spaces

One thing I noticed about Williams is the fact that he doesn’t need a lot of space to make something happen. That will come in handy in the NFL. RBs don’t get gaping holes very often. If he gets a gaping hole, Williams will surely make something of it, but as evidenced by his 57 rushes of 10 yards or more, he doesn’t always need a huge hole to run through.

It probably has something to do with his smaller size, but as long as he can do it, it doesn’t matter. Williams does a great job of working with the space he’s given, rather than requiring too much from his blockers.

Weaknesses:

• Smaller size

No surprise here, especially after getting his official measurements at the NFL Combine. Williams was listed as 5’9″ at Texas A&M, but came in an inch shorter at the NFL Combine. Being even smaller than scouts thought will hurt him. However, Williams weighed in six pounds heavier than listed, which kind of counteracts his height.

The size issue has been brought up with most of the RBs I’ve scouted so far. Small RBs can be successful in the NFL, but it’s just natural for teams to shy away from the smaller guys.

• Finishing through contact

This is usually a weakness for smaller RBs, but I was a little surprised by this because of Williams’ thicker frame. He’s small, but he’s thick, so I thought he wouldn’t mind taking some contact. That’s not the case.

There were too many times when I saw Williams get stopped at the first point of contact. I never really saw him fighting through contact. Instead, it almost seemed like once a defender got to him, he just gave up and went down. Sometimes it even seemed like he would predetermine when he was going down.

Williams led the SEC in carries of 10 yards or more, but I can only imagine how high that number would have been had he actually fought through contact.

• Creativeness

While Williams does work well in small spaces, I found that he doesn’t work well with no space. Some of the best RBs are able to make something out of nothing, but I rarely saw that from him.

I mentioned earlier that Williams does a nice job of working with what he’s given, but when he’s not given anything, it almost seems like he doesn’t know what to do. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that he can follow his blockers and hit the holes he’s given, but he has to find ways to create yards when things break down.

• Elusiveness

This weakness of Williams can directly translate to his lack of creativity. One of the reasons why he isn’t creative is because he’s not elusive. I just didn’t see much from him when it came to making defenders miss.

This can also go back to him predetermining when he was going down. I felt that at times, Williams would see a defender and just get in the mindset he was going down, rather than even attempt to escape.

Pro Comparison: Ameer Abdullah

This comparison might scare some people away. Ameer Abdullah hasn’t been the most productive since entering the NFL. Before you get too scared, let me just say that I think Williams is a better version of him.

Williams and Abdullah have very similar size and production coming out of college. From what I’ve seen, I like Williams a lot more than Abdullah, although I understand why the comparison might scare some.

Abdullah had potential to be a full time starter in the NFL, but he never got there. I believe that if the right team drafts Williams and uses him correctly early in his career, he can be a long time NFL starter based on his qualities.

Best Team Fits: Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears

Projection: 3rd to 4th round