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Jordan Williams, WR
School: Ball State | Conference: Mid-American
College Experience: Senior | Age: 21
Height / Weight: 6-3 / 226 lbs
Projected Draft Status: 5th or 6th Round
NFL Comparison: Brandon Marshall
College Statistics
Player Overview
Jordan Williams is a big receiver that does most of his damage along the sideline. At Ball State, he had a knack for creating separation on go routes and was a master at winning the jump ball. Williams has excellent size, he is gifted at tracking the ball in the air and adjusting to it, and he has great hands easily plucking the ball out of the air from its high point. Williams also had good speed to separate (especially from smaller corners) and create space to make the grab and he also has another gear when he accelerates.
Williams best statistical year was in 2013 when he played with quarterback Keith Wenning who threw for over 4,000 yards that season. Williams went for over 1,000 yards and 9 TDs opposite now Saints receiver Willie Snead who put up 1500 yards and 15 TDs that year. Ball State has had trouble finding a quarterback who was as productive as Wenning ever since but it's only affected Williams production somewhat. Williams was the face of Ball State's offense and still found a way to put up respectable numbers in a lackluster offense.
Analytics Nugget
The below chart is sorted by DR which stands for Dominator Rating. Dominator Rating takes the average of MS YDS (Market share Yards) and MS TD (Market share Touchdowns) to show how much of a team's passing production a player produced.
These charts and data are from RotoViz, Jon Moore, and Kyle Pollock. The links to the original page will be provided underneath each chart. The content for their data is protected after the first view so make sure you see everything in the first view or open in another browser.
Rotoviz uses Dominator Rating to help rank their prospects here are their metrics:
- Over 0.50 – NFL superstar/Top 10 overall pick value
- 0.45-0.50 roughly Top 15 pick value
- 0.40-0.45 very good Top 20 pick
- 0.35-0.40 late first, early second
- 0.30-0.35 second round to third round
- Below 0.30 (middle round pick)
This metric doesn't mean the player will get selected in the particular round defined, rather their college production is indicative of players who have been selected in these ranges.
link to DR chart
Jordan Williams ranks sixth in DR. His production this year represented 35% of Ball State's passing yards and 47% of their passing touchdowns. The DR is the average of those two numbers. Williams is in some favorable company using this metric including potential high round picks Will Fuller, Leonte Carroo, Corey Coleman, and Michael Thomas (OSU).
This chart tracks the age which each "draftable" receiver first accounted for 20% or more of their teams offensive production relative to their age. The purpose of this chart is to show which receivers played a significant role in producing in their offenses it would seem according to RotoViz:
In general, the earlier the breakout age, the better. A 23 year college senior putting up "dominant" numbers against opponents 2 years his junior is less meaningful than an 18 year old true freshman putting up the same numbers against opponents 2 years his elder. More Info
link to breakout age chart
I'm also including a link to 2015's age breakout chart from RotoViz which features data from the 2014 and 2013 receiving class as well. If these trends hold true the future is looking bright for our own Jamison Crowder and of course, Jordan Williams.
Strengths
- Excellent ability to track the ball in the air and adjust his body to make the catch.
- Strong, soft hands, he's a natural pass-catcher.
- Has enough speed and uses his size to break away on go routes.
- Has excellent size and more importantly, plays to his size.
- Excellent ability to win jump balls and to haul in catches on fade routes.
Weaknesses
- Concerned about his knowledge of the route tree. These smaller schools usually run simplistic spread offenses. He is great running the go, post, screens, and fade routes but those are football 101 routes can he do more?
- I can't speak to his run blocking ability, every piece of tape I've been able to find has him as a featured part of the offense in the passing game. I'll infer that he wasn't asked to block much while at Ball State.
- He doesn't appear to be very elusive or have much agility after the catch.
Let's see his work:
Jordan Williams of Ball State is the best small school receiver in this class. Good size and production and is great in jump ball situations
— Kyle Pollock (@KylePollockFF) January 25, 2016
Mentioned yesterday that I'm surprised #BallState WR Jordan Williams didn't get a Senior Bowl invite. McCloughan has drafted from BState b4
— Emmanual Benton (@Manny_PPI) January 13, 2016
Like the look of Jordan Williams (Ball State WR). Has so many translatable traits. Strong hands, times highpoints, and big bodied.
— NFL Draft Zone (@NFLDraftZone) January 11, 2016
Check out my latest interview with 2016 NFL Draft Prospect, WR out of Ball State, Jordan Williams (@JuiceWR8)! https://t.co/Oz4OhayIMV
— Christian Shanafelt (@ChrisShanafelt) December 19, 2015
RE: #BallState WR Jordan Williams, solid progress through career. 6'3 228lb build. 27GP 2017yd 17TD @gerrishbrosff pic.twitter.com/0G1YOJhtvk
— Jon Moore (@TheCFX) September 23, 2015
How He Would Fit on the Redskins
Jordan Williams would be the big athletic receiver the Redskins need to add to their receiving core to develop. I'm no GM but there are plenty of mid to later round wideouts who have been developed who have contributed when their number is called in the NFL. Williams would be a true red zone threat with his ability to catch the fade route. He also has the ability to stretch the field. He would answer Mark Tyler's prayers in the search for who would replace Pierre Garcon. The data I found trends positively for Williams, he was able to come to Ball State and contribute over 40% of the offensive production at a young age, and despite sub-par QB play after his sophomore season. Good quarterback play will increase his chance for early success where ever he goes and if drafted this year he'll have a good QB throwing to him.