An Interesting Comp

[time2rock]

An Interesting Comp

Posted: May 7th, 2021 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 313 Comments

DeVonta Smith and Landon Dickerson were the headline picks last weekend. They were big time players from the biggest program in college football. The most fascinating pick to me was third rounder Milton Williams.

Matt Alkire put Williams in a mock draft at some point and I told Matt I didn’t think that made any sense. The Vikings preferred bigger DTs. The Colts had bigger or taller DTs. Williams at 6-3, 284 didn’t fit the mold of many guys that new DC Jonathan Gannon had worked with.

Oops.

This is the downside of dealing with new coaching staffs. You can guess what they might want, but you sure as heck don’t know for a fact. When the Eagles made the Williams selection you can see that Gannon is really fired up. This is a player he definitely wanted.

As QBs get faster at throwing the ball, pressure off the edge becomes more challenging. The way to really affect QBs on a regular basis is with pressure up the middle. We see the impact of Aaron Donald, Grady Jarrett, Geno Atkins, DeForest Buckner and of course, Fletcher Cox. Williams has a chance to be a very disruptive interior player.

A few people compared Williams to Malik Jackson.

Jackson
6-5, 284
34-inch arms
4.91 in the 40
28 inch vertical
25 reps
4.41 SS
7.38 3-cone

Williams
6-3, 284
31.5-inch arms
4.67 in the 40
38.5 inch vertical
34 reps
4.33 SS
6.96 3-cone

Jackson was taller and had longer arms, but you can see that Williams is clearly more explosive and more athletic. Those numbers are very similar to Aaron Donald, who was 6-1, 285 at his Pro Day.

Clearly Donald is in a class of his own, but it is important to understand just how atheltic Williams is. Those are special numbers.

Malik Jackson was a disappointment in Philly, but he also signed here at age 29. Williams will be in his prime. Let’s watch some of Williams and then look at Jackson from his early NFL days.

 

And now for Jackson.

The link is giving me problems, but you can watch his Denver days here.

You can see similarities in their games. Both guys move incredibly well. Both have very good motors. Both are strong for their size and know how to use that strength.

Jackson was a key part of great defenses in Denver and Jacksonville. His ability to pressure up the middle and be disruptive was hugely valuable. The Eagles will be very happy if Williams can be a similar type of NFL player.

http://igglesblitz.com/2021/05/an-interesting-comp/

[eggs]

But isn’t Malik playing against nfl players and this guy is playing against small christian schools? I am not a fan of this pick and think he’ll be another workout warrior bust that Howie loved because he never played football. Btw, the tiny arms will be a problem and are freaking me out - thinking of Tatoo from Fantasy Island. 

[Vee]

1 hour ago, eggs said:

But isn’t Malik playing against nfl players and this guy is playing against small christian schools? I am not a fan of this pick and think he’ll be another workout warrior bust that Howie loved because he never played football. Btw, the tiny arms will be a problem and are freaking me out - thinking of Tatoo from Fantasy Island. 

Keep an eye on Alim McNeill for the next two seasons.  He was the DT the Eagles were probably assuming would still be there at 73....instead the Lions took him at 72.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

I like this pick. He's going to be DT #3 or 4 so he's a rotational guy at this point and to be honest probably always will be. He's probably not big enough to be an every down DT (although he's as big as Donald and in fact is slightly taller) but I think he can come in on passing downs and he can get after the QB either from the inside or the outside. Sure it is a risk because he didn't play at a particularly high level in college but I am still excited by this pick. I like his athleticism and I hope Gannon and this coaching staff can really help develop him.

[birdman#12]

Aaron Donald doesn't win at the line of scrimmage because of the length of his arms, he wins because of his quickness and explosiveness, and his strength.

Williams has the tools......but can he develop technique and use his physical tools to excel?  Hopefully, Tracy Rocker can bring this kid along....

[UK_EaglesFan89]

1 hour ago, birdman#12 said:

Aaron Donald doesn't win at the line of scrimmage because of the length of his arms, he wins because of his quickness and explosiveness, and his strength.

Williams has the tools......but can he develop technique and use his physical tools to excel?  Hopefully, Tracy Rocker can bring this kid along....

And that's the real hope right! Hopefully Rocker can develop a really good interior pass rusher. All the while we drafted a bigger more solid run stuffer later in the draft who can hopefully be that depth guy.

[time2rock]

9 hours ago, Vee said:

Keep an eye on Alim McNeill for the next two seasons.  He was the DT the Eagles were probably assuming would still be there at 73....instead the Lions took him at 72.

I assume that to be true but there were conflicting reports indicating we wanted CB Robinson that went to NY at 71.  Either way, this was just another example of Howie getting cute playing his fantasy football game in maneuvering through the draft only to acquire a 6th round pick??  He should have just stayed put and taken his player.  And if Gannon was that thrilled to land Williams then would he not have been equally thrilled to land McNeill (or Robinson)?  Was the Williams pick more the coaches preference but the others were Howie and/or Weidl picks?  Just doesn't seem they are all on the same page.  Anyway, hope Williams turns into a monster for us ... then who cares!  haha

[Vee]

On 5/11/2021 at 8:28 AM, time2rock said:

Either way, this was just another example of Howie getting cute playing his fantasy football game in maneuvering through the draft only to acquire a 6th round pick??  

Yes, I'm not sure if the risk was necessarily high, but certainly low reward here.  

[birdman#12]

Good coaching is so crucial to these young guys developing......Barnett came out of college and all we heard is that he broke Reggie White's college sack record and he has struggled in his first 4 years with flashes of what's possible.  That's why with Williams, Barnett and Sweat, I'm hoping Tracy Rocker can get them to be very productive over the next year or 2. 

They all have the physical tools.  But the coaching, the technique and the experience has to all jell with those tools.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

20 hours ago, birdman#12 said:

Good coaching is so crucial to these young guys developing......

You're right it is yes. I think unfortunately with Barnett though he was a reasonably high floor, low ceiling pick. He's a fine, solid DE. He's just not elite and not what you'd have wanted with our #13 overall pick. 

[birdman#12]

2 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

You're right it is yes. I think unfortunately with Barnett though he was a reasonably high floor, low ceiling pick. He's a fine, solid DE. He's just not elite and not what you'd have wanted with our #13 overall pick. 

He has a tendency to get banged up but he shows big time flashes, which is why, I think, the eagles picked up his 5th year option.

I don't care about the elite nonsense, i care about production and consistency.  He's got the ability to be very disruptive but he needs to work on his discipline.