Trayveon Williams, Texas A&M

Height: 5’8″
Weight: 206 pounds
40-yard dash: 4.51 seconds
Vertical Jump: 33.0 inches
Broad Jump: 121 inches
3-Cone Drill: 7.01 seconds

There’s a certain threshold for running backs who hope to handle a large workload in the NFL, and 200 pounds is that mark. Running backs who come in under 200 pounds have a hard time remaining on the field and handling a big workload, so Williams’ weigh-in at 206 pounds was somewhat significant. He measured in at just 5-foot-8 as well, so he’s built like a pit-bull. When looking at height and weight, it’s typically a standard that for every inch, you add 10 pounds. If he were 5-foot-10, he’d look like a running back who weighs 226 pounds, which most would describe as “big.”

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He handled a massive workload while at Texas A&M, carrying the ball a massive 600 times over three seasons, while chipping in with 66 receptions. That’s quite a bit of tread on his tires, but it’s worth noting he only missed one game in his time there. He finished his tenure there very strong, racking up at least 107 rushing yards in each of the last five games while scoring 11 touchdowns in them. The 1,760 rushing yards ranked third in the nation while his 18 rushing touchdowns ranked fifth. You aren’t going to stay away from him because of his college production, that much is certain.

Vision/Awareness: 3.0 out of 5 stars
His vision seemed solid when watching him operate with some space in front of him, but when you watched him against Alabama’s and Clemson’s defensive fronts, he didn’t create anything with his vision, but rather ran into a wall every time. Not many running backs are able to run against them, but in the NFL, there’ll be more teams like them than teams like Mississippi. Once he gets a bit of running room, he’s able to find the holes as they open, but I think the same can be said about most running backs. He’s intelligent in the way he approaches the line of scrimmage, not hitting his turbo button all the time, but he also needs to learn how to utilize the whole field when things don’t open up for him. You don’t want him to continually bounce runs outside, but when the interior continually gets no push, he needs to create a bit more on his own.

Elusiveness (twitch, juke, tackle-breaking): 2.5 out of 5 stars
He’s not going to move a pile. He may be built proportionately, but he’s still very small by NFL standards. Able to mix up his speeds very well, so when you combine that with his smaller size, it makes him elusive. While moving at less than full-speed, he has good control over his change-in-direction. He’s not a twitchy running back or one with hard jukes, but rather one who relies on subtle changes in his direction to prevent would-be tacklers from squaring him up. He needs a bit more elusiveness though, because he’s not going to break many tackles at the NFL level.

Speed: 4.0 out of 5 stars
He’s quicker than he is fast, as he gets up to his desired speed relatively quick, but his top gear isn’t going to wow you. When picking just one trait, I’ll take quick all day, and it’s not as if he’s really slow (4.51-second 40-yard dash). His game speed is one of the more refreshing parts of his game, as he maneuvers his way through a defense varying his levels of speed. Think of him like a sports car that glides through curves because the driver can shift his way through the gears, knowing when to accelerate and decelerate. Williams understands what his body can/can’t do and changes his speed to accommodate that.

Pass-catching/Pass Protection: 3.5 out of 5 stars
He’s a willing blocker, doesn’t shy away from it, but he’s not going to hold up many players. Not only is he small, but he’ll miss chip blocks that he needs to make in order to stay on the field. From what I’ve seen, blocking is certainly something he can improve upon, though I’ve seen a lot of reports praising his pass-protection. He can catch passes with ease out of the backfield, as I even saw him snag a few one-handers in my film session. He didn’t offer a lot of versatility as a pass-catcher at Texas A&M, as his routes are often just screens and dump-off passes into the flats. It’s not to say he can’t do more, but he wasn’t used in many other ways. He’d be a very small target outside of a few yards from the line of scrimmage.

Balance: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Once he gains some speed, he needs to round-out his cuts up the field instead of planting and boosting up the field, which is why it makes sense that he doesn’t play full-speed very often, as he’s better when he’s shifting his gears. He’s not always going to fall forward into those extra yards like some backs will, as they’re a bit more control over their body than him. In the end, I expected him to be a bit more agile and in control of his body at his size.

Potential Landing Spots
Some have Williams as their top back in this class, though I don’t see it. While opportunity means more than talent to a running back most times, it’s unlikely a team selects him with a 15-plus touch role in mind. He’s likely a depth chart piece who can move up if he impresses in practice. The Panthers are reportedly looking to add some depth behind Christian McCaffrey to help take the load off him, so Williams could find a home with them. The Jaguars need someone to replace both T.J. Yeldon and Corey Grant, so they could be a potential suitor as well.

NFL Comparison
While watching Williams, I don’t see a workhorse at the NFL level, so we need to search for a running back who’s been part of timeshares throughout their career. While Ito Smith would be a solid comparison, not many people have seen him play extensively, so I’ll go with Danny Woodhead. He was capable of playing on first- and second-down, but that’s not the role that best-suited him. He was at his best when getting 5-10 carries per game, while doing some work in the passing-game. Williams is not likely to make an impact in year one and sometimes those players can get buried on the depth chart. His ideal scenario is landing with a team who uses their running backs a lot in the pass attack.

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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.