The Case for Connor Williams

lostxn

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I'm sure you guys all know I'm a bit of a WR whore this draft year. However, I'm beginning to soften this stance given the quality of some of the other choices out there. Specifically, I really like Leighton Vander Esch and am gradually warming on Connor Williams. We tend to get linked to one of the top guards (Wynn or Hernandez) when we are linked to an O-lineman. However, Williams might well be a better choice.

Our season tanked due to the loss of our top tackle. We covered ourself with Cameron Fleming but he's no star and certainly is a drop-off from both Collins and Smith. You take Williams, who is a heady guy, and you plug him in at LG. He does have short arms and his future might he at guard. However, he also could play tackle if you needed him to. He's very tall and has great feet/bend, etc. Gives you a lot of flexibility. The guy is very athletic which should really upgrade the guard spot. He's a very smart player who could add to what is already a very savvy starting group (save perhaps Collins). You come into next year with a line of:

Smith
Williams
Frederick
Martin
Collins

You have depth with Looney, Fleming, Green or Bell and Martin for depth.

That's one hell of a starting five with really quality depth.

Are you doubling down on an existing strength? Yes. However, our strength became a weakness pretty clearly last year. Tyron Smith's back is really a concern for years to come. We need quality depth bad.

Anyway, food for thought...
 

Cowboysrock55

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I'm sure you guys all know I'm a bit of a WR whore this draft year. However, I'm beginning to soften this stance given the quality of some of the other choices out there. Specifically, I really like Leighton Vander Esch and am gradually warming on Connor Williams. We tend to get linked to one of the top guards (Wynn or Hernandez) when we are linked to an O-lineman. However, Williams might well be a better choice.

Our season tanked due to the loss of our top tackle. We covered ourself with Cameron Fleming but he's no star and certainly is a drop-off from both Collins and Smith. You take Williams, who is a heady guy, and you plug him in at LG. He does have short arms and his future might he at guard. However, he also could play tackle if you needed him to. He's very tall and has great feet/bend, etc. Gives you a lot of flexibility. The guy is very athletic which should really upgrade the guard spot. He's a very smart player who could add to what is already a very savvy starting group (save perhaps Collins). You come into next year with a line of:

Smith
Williams
Frederick
Martin
Collins

You have depth with Looney, Fleming, Green or Bell and Martin for depth.

That's one hell of a starting five with really quality depth.

Are you doubling down on an existing strength? Yes. However, our strength became a weakness pretty clearly last year. Tyron Smith's back is really a concern for years to come. We need quality depth bad.

Anyway, food for thought...
I'm against it. You don't draft for flexibility in the first round. You draft guys who will be a stud at a certain position. You draft Connor Williams for flexibility and it's a huge mistake. If he is the best guard on the board take him but to me Hernandez and Wynn are the better guard prospects. IF you take a OT it's because you see an elite RT who allows you to move Collins in to guard (Where I actually think he is a better prospects, gave up way too much pressure at RT). So if we are picking Connor Williams in the first in my opinion it needs to be because he is the best OT on the board. And I just don't think I'm high enough on him as a RT prospect to want him in the first round. You need to be getting an elite talent on the O-line if you're taking another guy in the first round.

And frankly it's not a great first round OT draft.
 

lostxn

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I'm against it. You don't draft for flexibility in the first round. You draft guys who will be a stud at a certain position. You draft Connor Williams for flexibility and it's a huge mistake. If he is the best guard on the board take him but to me Hernandez and Wynn are the better guard prospects. IF you take a OT it's because you see an elite RT who allows you to move Collins in to guard (Where I actually think he is a better prospects, gave up way too much pressure at RT). So if we are picking Connor Williams in the first in my opinion it needs to be because he is the best OT on the board. And I just don't think I'm high enough on him as a RT prospect to want him in the first round. You need to be getting an elite talent on the O-line if you're taking another guy in the first round.

And frankly it's not a great first round OT draft.
He's a pretty damn good OT prospect. He just had a down year last year due to a knee injury. I suspect that injury is going to cost him half a round of draft position to perhaps even a full round. So we may be getting a very good tackle prospect late in the first round which is not bad value. If the injury really explained the drop-off. He only started 5 games in 2017 so it wasn't nothing.
 

Cowboysrock55

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He's a pretty damn good OT prospect. He just had a down year last year due to a knee injury. I suspect that injury is going to cost him half a round of draft position to perhaps even a full round. So we may be getting a very good tackle prospect late in the first round which is not bad value. If the injury really explained the drop-off. He only started 5 games in 2017 so it wasn't nothing.
Yeah he was bad in 2017 but he is very athletic. But Wynn was an excellent OT with the body of a guard too. So why Connor William's over Wynn?

I also don't know how excited I am to take an Olineman in the first off an injury. I mean part of being a great Olineman is being on the field 100% of the time. I prefer iron men up front like Frederick and Martin have been for us.
 

lostxn

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Yeah he was bad in 2017 but he is very athletic. But Wynn was an excellent OT with the body of a guard too. So why Connor William's over Wynn?

I also don't know how excited I am to take an Olineman in the first off an injury. I mean part of being a great Olineman is being on the field 100% of the time. I prefer iron men up front like Frederick and Martin have been for us.
That's a decent point. I will say he's not coming off an ACL. He sprained his knee. He played the final games of the year but skipped the bowl game.

As for Wynn, I thought he would go earlier than 19. I probably would take Wynn as well.
 

Smitty

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Count me as a no also. The board would have to be pretty bare.
 

Simpleton

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I also agree that I'd rather go Wynn who projects inside but also has the ability to spot-start at LT. I'd also rather go with a 9 at OG (Hernandez) who can't play OT than a 7 at OG and OT like Williams.

Williams wasn't great last year but he definitely projects to be able to play inside with his size and arm length, I just feel like it'd be a bit rich to take him at 19. You can throw him in the group with guys I'd be happy to take in the late 1st/early 2nd after a trade down.

I feel like if we take him at 19 primarily because of his versatility and as "Tyron insurance" we're going to regret it down the line.
 

Cowboysrock55

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I also agree that I'd rather go Wynn who projects inside but also has the ability to spot-start at LT. I'd also rather go with a 9 at OG (Hernandez) who can't play OT than a 7 at OG and OT like Williams.

Williams wasn't great last year but he definitely projects to be able to play inside with his size and arm length, I just feel like it'd be a bit rich to take him at 19. You can throw him in the group with guys I'd be happy to take in the late 1st/early 2nd after a trade down.

I feel like if we take him at 19 primarily because of his versatility and as "Tyron insurance" we're going to regret it down the line.
If I do draft Connor Williams it would be strictly to play RT. And frankly it's because Collins wasn't exactly great at pass protection and I think we could improve there while adding serious power by moving Collins back in to LG. But I'm not that excited by the move. Because I think Connor is probably just a good RT if he reaches his full potential. I don't think he has that same high end ability as other guys.
 

boozeman

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Wynn over William's and it is not even close.
 
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