Redskins Show Interest In Nevada Safety Duke Williams

It's no secret the Washington Redskins need to improve the secondary this offseason, after all, they ranked 30th in the league in pass defense. The weakest position on that secondary is probably free safety, a position Madieu Williams occupied for the majority of the season. He lacked the range and decisiveness to make much of an impact, and took a lot of the blame for big plays against the Redskins. Clearly, an upgrade at free safety is a priority for Washington.

It sounds like one of the guys they are looking at is Nevada safety prospect Duke Williams. Williams has been impressive throughout the entire pre-draft process, showing up particularly well against good competition at the Senior Bowl. At the NFL Scouting Combine Williams had an interview with the Redskins, which he recently discussed on ESPN980's Inside the Locker Room:

I had a pretty good interview with the Redskins. I like the coaching staff.....Their style of play and the defense they run...I went over the defense I ran. We watched film and things just vibed a little bit. That was one of my good interviews. I think I did pretty well in all of them but I enjoyed interviewing with the Redskins.

I recently mocked Williams to the Redskins in my latest mock draft. I had him in the fourth round, but I've seen projections for him ranging anywhere between the third and fifth round. Here was my short 'scouting' report on him:

Williams is a little bit of a project at the free safety position and is someone you probably wouldn't want him starting day one in an ideal world. He's raw and a little undersized (6'0", 190 pounds) but he has tremendous range which is probably the most important trait of a top free safety, at least for my money anyway. He's able to close on routes and running backs quickly and is more than willing to take on bigger backs in run defense. He can be a little overaggressive at times, leading to him getting sucked in on play-action, but he has a lot to work with and could easily develop into a starter down the road.

So what do you make of Duke Williams and how would he look in a Redskins uniform? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.