Hogs Haven takes a look at 2023 NFL Draft prospects that could contribute to the Commanders
Garrett Williams, CB
School: Syracuse | Conference: ACC
College Experience: RS Sophomore | Age: 21
Height / Weight: 5’10” / 192 lbs
Projected Draft Status: 3rd Round
Player Comparison: Kendall Fuller
College Statistics
| Tackles | Def Int | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Solo | Ast | Tot | Loss | Sk | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | Yds | TD | FF |
| 2020 | Syracuse | ACC | FR | DB | 11 | 54 | 10 | 64 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 70 | 35.0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | Syracuse | ACC | FR | DB | 10 | 36 | 16 | 52 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |||
| *2022 | Syracuse | ACC | SO | DB | 7 | 25 | 11 | 36 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Career | Syracuse | 115 | 37 | 152 | 9.5 | 2.0 | 4 | 75 | 18.8 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | ||||
Player Overview
Like many other players, Garrett Williams was a dual sport athlete sprinting while dominating in the secondary for his high school. A three-star recruit, Williams chose to leave his native North Carolina and play for Syracuse. He only appeared in four games before redshirting the rest of the season. His next season, he announced himself as a top corner in the ACC by leading the conference in pass breakups while being one of the Orange’s leaders in tackles. He followed that up by being named All-ACC next season, leading the conference in pass breakups for back-to-back years. He was named team captain this past season, but an ACL tear cut his season short after seven games.
Strengths
- Fluid hips and good footwork to mirror receivers
- Good awareness and feel for playing zone
- Extra gear when the ball is in the air
- Plays the ball well in the air; a lot of PBUs
- Willing tackler using elite acceleration to beat blockers to the ball
Weaknesses
- Despite acceleration, may not have deep speed
- Poor eye discipline can lead to receivers beating him deep
- Lapses in technique such as high back pedal
- Would like to see more of those PBUs be INTs
- Recovering from ACL injury
Let’s see his work
Working through my initial evaluation of Syracuse CB Garrett Williams. He has great eye-discipline in coverage.
Breaks with vision on the receiver➡️establishes contact to disrupt timing➡️squeezes receiver into the sideline
Elite eye-discipline protects against double moves‼️✅ pic.twitter.com/mfEtTRJ6BA
— owenstraley21 (@owenstraley21) February 28, 2023
Syracuse CB Garrett Williams is a technician at the catch point.
Forces inside release on fade with soft-shoe press➡️flips and closes to near hip➡️turns to locate the football once in phase➡️attacks the football with his off-arm to secure PBU.
He dominated against Clemson‼️✅ pic.twitter.com/LSOhYkBHXP
— owenstraley21 (@owenstraley21) February 28, 2023
How he fits on the Commanders
If not for the ACL tear, Williams would likely be getting more attention as an early Day 2 pick. Everything points to Williams being healthy by the time the NFL season starts, but on the Commanders, there is no need to rush him into action. Kendall Fuller and Benjamin St-Juste can start while Williams returns to form. Given St-Juste’s injury history, there may be a chance for him to see some snaps during his rookie season. At best, Williams shows he’s a capable starter and can replace Fuller on the roster or make St-Juste a backup. At worst, Williams could provide a high-end depth corner, something the Commanders need. Drafting an injured cornerback that might have gone higher worked when Washington selected Kendall Fuller. Could they get lucky again?