Washington Redskins Draft Profiles: Leonard Williams, DL

Leonard Williams

Defensive Lineman

Height: 6'5"

Weight: 291 lbs

Southern California

Strengths: Arguably the most talented prospect in the draft with ideal size, athleticism, power, and passion for the game of football.  He's huge.  Very tall and wide with long arms and legs and broad shoulders.

Extremely quick (especially for his size) and agile.  Has the ability to penetrate from just about any gap.  His long arms allow him to prevent blockers from getting a good grasp and controlling him.  He usually makes first contact and is able to control OL.  When an opponent does get a hold of him, Williams' technique allows him to escape rather easily.  He has great speed and is strongest against the run.

Though Williams had an ankle injury for most of this past season, he played through it.  That kind of passion for football reminds me of Trent Williams fighting through his injuries this past season.  Any team would be happy to have guys with passion like that and Williams has it in spades.

Weaknesses: Football has been so easy for Williams to dominate for so long, it's questionable how he'll react/fare against worth opposition.  He's so gifted that he's been able to rely on his body and natural athleticism to win for most of his life.  Perhaps he hasn't worked on technique as much as someone who's lacking all those gifts?  Also, Williams can be a bit streaky.  He's not quite as consistent as you'd like, but again, this could possibly be attributed to his feeling that he can just turn it on when needed and he's been right about that ability forever.  How will that go when he reaches the highest level?  He's also kind of tall and that hurts in the leverage game (though it helps with batted passes).  He's also dealt with a couple injuries (shoulder and ankle).

Bottom Line: The guy is some sort of awesome combination of Gerald McCoy and J.J. Watt.  In a word, he's dominant.  His physical make-up is wildly rare and perfect.  It's hard not to succeed with that combination of size, length, and athleticism.  He can basically line up anywhere on the DL.

It should be noted that Williams made an impact as a true freshman at USC.  That's hard to do.  He had 64 tackles, 13.5 TFL, and eight sacks as a freshman (and of course he was Defensive Freshman of the Year in the Pac-12)!  In his sophomore campaign, he logged 74 tackles, 13.5 TFL, and six sacks, all while dealing with a shoulder injury.  He moves better than just about any human his size (right there with McCoy and Watt).

Projected Round: 1

Team he Fits Best On: Titans, Jaguars