[#FilmWithFive] Prospect Preview: RB Trayveon Williams

Once upon a time, Trayveon Williams was a freshman running back at Texas A&M.

He was good then, as he is now, and running along side some notable names:

Elusive rating leaders – SEC RBs
Joshua Jacobs, BAMA
Trayveon Williams, A&M
Alvin Kamara, TENN
Jordan Scarlett, UF

— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 7, 2016

Josh Jacobs, currently being touted as 2019’s RB1.

Alvin Kamara, who went from Alabama to Tennessee, to go on to have a pretty decent start to an NFL career.

Best back in pass protection since Ezekiel Elliott?

Pass protection is important. We don’t have to go through the “why” or the nuance surrounding it. There really isn’t another side to the coin.

The aforementioned Elliott is the recent “gold standard” in that regard. While there have been other, proficient runners that excel in this area, Williams’ ability stood out to me from the onset, mainly because of his build.

Standing at 5-9, 200 pounds, Williams is very consistent when it comes to protecting and putting a hat on a defender. Let’s see what the tape saw.

Working against 240-pound linebacker Devin White:

Hands that are more-than-good-enough.

I’ll continue to highlight the importance of pass-catching as a running back. Again, we don’t need to elaborate on it. The game has changed. Look at players like Leonard Fournette recently that, despite the high draft capital, find themselves in a limited role in today’s NFL. You need to be able to get in space and create.

One-handed snag, a little move to shake the defender, and piles on the yards after catch. Williams wins here a lot.

Shrugs off the first defender and is able to scoot ahead for additional yards; hands, and a little contact balance — both translate.

Okay, you get the point. This is easy. Hands are there; clearly aren’t a question mark. I’d go as far to say they’re a strength. 19, 20, and 27 grabs respectively throughout his three-year college career speak to the consistency.

Winning with one cut.

So, back to play strength. Unfortunately, as much as I like Williams (he’s going to slide up the board from my early-rankings), with his size, he doesn’t necessarily play with the amount of power that you’d like to see in an every-down runner. Now, that’s not to say he can’t win and be successful at the next level. The game is changing. You want to involve him through the air. You want him running around defenses, not necessarily through them. Smart offensives staffs will cater to these backs’ strengths and exploit defenses (i.e. Tarik Cohen; Christian McCaffrey is a high-end and perhaps lazier example).

There is a really good thread about running backs and their ability to win a “direct collision” here, and what that means for their prospects. I’d recommend reading that.

For now, let’s highlight more of Williams’ positives.

While his power is lacking at times, he does have proper contact balance, and ability to create yards. He’s a smooth, one-cut runner at the end of the day. That’s his game.

First cut keeps him clean out of the backfield while the second cut nearly springs him free – defender just grabs his feet.

Makes the defender pay for over-pursuing initially; first-down run and more.

This last one doesn’t go for more than a few yards, but he effortlessly moves around two defenders and makes what could’ve or should’ve been a dead play into positive yards.

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