Prospect Profiles: Ian Williams

Prospect Profiles: Ian Williams

March 12th, 2011

Jeremy Fuchs

Posted in 2011 NFL Draft, Prospect Profiles

Tweet

Tweet

IAN WILLIAMS, DT, NOTRE DAME

Triangle Numbers: 6-2, 305, 5.20

Scouting Reports:

Sideline Scouting:

Positives: Good initial burst off the line… Good short area mobility… Very solid power… Gets into opponents quickly… Plays with reasonably good leverage… Uses his hands well… Can get occasional push with bull rush… Plays the run well… Very solid anchor in the middle… Does an adequate job shooting gaps… Can occupy double teams… Stay at home run stopper… Chases the action… Good tackler… Good range… Good leader… Good instincts and awareness… Good motor… 3-4 NT candidate, though a bit undersized… Reminds me a lot of Casey Hampton.

Negatives: Lacks explosion… Doesn’t get in the backfield very much… Not a great penetrator or pocket collapser… Shorter than ideal arms… Had not recorded a sack prior to this season… Not much of an arsenal… Plays a little too high… Needs to get a little stronger in lower body… Does not have much room left to add bulk… Gets a lot of plays off… Two-down run stuffer… Missed four games with torn MCL this season.

NFLMocks:

Pros:

His run defense and his instincts are what stick out most about Williams. He uses his hands and arms well by being able to keep blockers away from his frame, uses a good punch, and gets his arms up in passing lanes. Gets a good jump on the snap. He’s impressive at shedding blocks and making tackles on the rusher. He’s also a sure tackler.

Cons:

As you can tell by his sack numbers, he isn’t much of a pass rusher, but that’s also knowledge from watching him play. Even though he’s quick for his size, Williams doesn’t get to the quarterback often. He gets swallowed up by double teams and rarely gets through them. He’s only a two down player, taken out on passing downs.

Thoughts:

He seems to be a little out of place playing nose guard for the Irish since his strength is his quickness, not his pure strength. Williams doesn’t overpower blockers, but he does just well enough to take on double teams and allow his teammates to make plays. I don’t think he’ll be able to play nose guard in the NFL, but 3-4 defensive end or 4-3 defensive tackle seems more right for him.

National Football Post:

A natural bender who can really coil up into his stance and fire off the football, generating initial leverage for himself on contact. Is an undersized nose, but does a nice job extending his arms into blocks and using his suddenness to slip opposing linemen in space and make his way toward the football on plays away from his frame. Plays with a good motor and demonstrates above-average range in pursuit. Gets into opposing linemen quickly with his good first step and is consistently one of the first linemen moving off the ball. Nevertheless, he isn’t real laterally gifted as a pass rusher and isn’t much more than a push/pull guy, which really limits what he can do on third down.

Lacks great power in his lower half and really struggles to push the pocket as a bull rusher and can be sealed easily from the football inside. But, possesses above-average anchor strength on contact vs. the double team, with the quickness to gain an initial advantage in order to be effective getting up the field. However, can be engulfed on contact too easily at times as a pass rusher and will struggle to fight his way through opposing linemen once they get their hands on him.

Impression: Plays with leverage and has a good first step to his game, but looks nothing more than a reserve guy to me.

GiantsGab Thoughts:

Ian Williams is run stopping defensive tackle, who would not be a bad pickup in the later rounds. Little undersized, could be a nice backup, play on 1st downs, or obvious running situations, and make an impact. 6th or 7th round, in my mind. Decent player, has some limitations, but you could do worse.
PREVIOUS PROFILES:

CB