As an invested/partisan Giants fan, who would have preferred as the Redskins' draft pick? Boy, I am glad they took Scherff. The idea of Leonard Williams harassing our QBs for the next ten years terrified me. Thanks, Scot McCloughan.
On the flip side I hate that our drama queen brethren in green have Leonard Williams. I can live with that (lesser) evil.
Your thoughts please.
In other words, LW on his own, could potentially impact the Giants' Oline. Scherff is a part of a group of whom all have to play well for them to have success.
Really?! Wow. Williams is one guy I would have loved to see in blue. I would happily have waited to Rd 2 for an OL if he was the pick.
Multiple PFF/CFF staffers came up with the same line to describe Williams after watching his tape: “Reactive, not active”.
There’s no doubt that some of this is scheme. Williams was a 3-4 defensive end often asked to control two gaps and read and react, but that doesn’t explain it all. Looking only at third and long plays this season – plays where everybody is going after the quarterback – his numbers are actually worse than the FBS average among defensive interior players and he recorded only eight total pressures from 94 pass rush snaps. When he definitely had the freedom to get after the quarterback without any restrictions Williams’ numbers were worse than usual. That is a red flag.
If there’s one thing that doesn’t seem to show up that often on tape it’s elite burst off the line and penetration. His combine numbers represent a bit of a mixed bag in terms of showing explosion. His 40- and 10-yard times were good, but his broad jump and vertical leap were both far less impressive, and both are designed to show a player’s explosive ability.
Maybe Williams has that ability and can be coached to be more disruptive at the next level, to penetrate and attack more, playing the game in the backfield rather than disengaging from blocks at the line of scrimmage and allowing a certain inbuilt gain before he makes the play. On the other hand maybe that is an inherent negative in his play. If it is, that is likely to limit the impact he can have in the NFL, where blockers are bigger, stronger and play with better technique, and any delay in attacking gaps results in bigger gains by the offense.
If that is the case, Williams is always likely to be a better run defender at the next level than he is a pass-rusher at a time when the opposite is more desirable in an ever more pass-oriented league.
There is no doubt that Williams is supremely talented, but there are question marks that get thrown up on tape and his CFF grades. Are those question marks enough to scare teams away from taking him inside the Top 5 picks of the draft, or will they be confident they can coach the best out of a player with all the raw tools they could wish for?
This^^^.