With Pick #194 GB Selects RB Dexter Williams Notre Dame

[Mark87]

SENIOR SEASON (2018)

• Leads the team with 941 rushing yards and 12 rushing TDs; has surpassed 100 rushing yards in four games, including 202 and two TDs vs. FSU
• Broke a 97-yard TD run at No. 24 Virginia Tech, the longest of his career, the second-longest in Notre Dame history, and the longest in the history of VaTech’s Lane Stadium
• Totaled 178 yards and three TDs in win over Hokies
• Ran for 161 yards and a TD in win over No. 7 Stanford

JUNIOR SEASON (2017)

• Saw action in 10 games
• Did not play against Miami, Ohio (Sept. 30), North Carolina (Oct. 7) and USC (Oct. 21)
• Gained 360 rushing yards on 39 carries, including four TD runs
• Averaged 9.2 yards per rush, which led the team among ball carriers with at least 35 attempts
• Ranked fifth on the team in rushes, fourth in rushing yards and fourth in rushing TDs
• Caught two passes for 13 yards, inculding a TD reception at Michigan State (Sept. 23)
• 17 of his 39 carries went for a first down or touchdown
• Three of his four carries on third down resulted in a first down or touchdown
• Recorded four rushes of at least 30 yards
• Rushed for a career-high 124 yards on six carries against Temple (Sept. 2), including a 66-yard TD run
• Collected a 32-yard run against Wake Forest (Nov. 4) and 31-yard run against LSU (Jan. 1)
• Tied for second on the team with four punt-return tackles
• Tied for ninth on the team with four special-teams tackles

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2016)

• Played in all 12 games, primarily as a reserve running back
• Gained 200 rushing yards on 39 carries, including three TD runs
• Ranked fourth on the team in rushes, fourth in rushing yards and third in rushing TDs
• Rushed for a career-high 80 yards on eight carries against Syracuse (Oct. 1), including a career-best 59-yard TD run
• Nine of his 39 carries went for a first down or touchdown
• One of his three carries on third down resulted in a first down or touchdown
• Recorded two rushes of at least 20 yards

FRESHMAN SEASON (2015)

• Played in seven games, primarily as a reserve running back
• Gained 81 rushing yards on 21 carries, including his first career TD on a 14-yard run against UMass (Sept. 26)
• Ranked fourth on the team in rushes, tied for fourth in rushing TDs and sixth in rushing yards
• Added a 20-yard kickoff return against the Minutemen
• Carried the ball seven times and gained 24 yards in his collegiate debut against Texas (Sept. 5)
• Rushed for a career high 48 yards on seven carries against UMass
• Five of his 21 carries went for a first down or touchdown
• Both of his carries on third down resulted in a first down or touchdown
• Recorded two rushes of at least 10 yards

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA

• Rated 78th player national by ESPN 300, 94th by 247Sports, 114th by Scout.com, 120th by Rivals.com, 139th on PrepStar Top 150 Dream Team and 298th by Tom Lemming
• Rushed for 871 yards and 10 touchdowns on 124 carries as senior in 2014 as running back at West Orange High School in Orlando, Florida
• Helped West Orange to its best season ever at 11-1 in 2014
• Scored three of his team’s first four TDs as West Orange in 2014 won its first Florida Class 8A playoff game in history with 42-21 victory over Timber Creek in quarterfinals
• Played first three seasons at Olympia High School in Orlando
• Ranked as No. 4 player overall on Orlando Sentinel Super 60 selection as junior in 2013
• Rushed 179 times for 1,072 yards and three TDs as junior in 2013 at Olympia
• Enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters, majoring in africana studies

 

[GBP4EVER]

Strengths

• Possesses adequate NFL size with good flexibility
• Stepped into bell-cow role with ease
• Had four games with 140-plus yards and averaged a touchdown run every 12 carries
• Understands block development and where lanes will originate
• Adequate decisiveness as interior runner
• Presses line of scrimmage to set blockers up for success
• Loose hips to flow where his eyes take him
• Processes traffic quickly to work away from peek-a-boo gap-fitters
• Impressive acceleration
• Mashes gas to win foot races to corner or hit the home run
• Runs with square pads and drops heavy, pre-emptive blows on tacklers
• Small career workload for fresh NFL legs
• Ball security has been excellent in relatively limited work.

Weaknesses

• Small sample size with limited tape against quality competition
• Never more than 39 carries in a single season before 2018
• Has an arrest (2016) and four-game suspension (2018) in his background
• Slew-footed running style can affect balance through cuts
• Needs to step in and square blitzers rather than defaulting to body rolls
• Easier to upend in space because of narrow running base
• Vision goes from good to average after he's past the line of scrimmage
• Average elusiveness in open field

 

[GBP4EVER]

Williams is an explosive, one-cut, downhill runner with tremendous feel and vision to slash through gaps in zone schemes. Williams doesn’t have elite breakaway speed but has shown a solid combination of acceleration and toughness in the open field. He was only a one-year performer in Notre Dame’s offense but flashed abilities in the passing game through screens, check downs and the occasional angle route that would intrigue a LaFleur-led offense.

 

[mzahn]

 

[GBP4EVER]

Kid seems to have really good lane vision on picking out were he needs to go which is huge in ML offense.

 

[57packer]

Another nice value proposition. Hopefully the off-field red-flag stuff is in the past. Okay speed and tested pretty well. Most of the stuff I read on him was pretty positive except for one report that he goes down pretty easily on contact, but then at this point in the draft you are always rolling the dice on guys with some warts and hoping you can grab a guy you can coach up and develop.

 

[oakleaf]

A lot of tread left on his tires!

 

[57packer]

Nice video mzahn. The thing you notice on most of those TDs, especially the longer ones is that he was essentially untouched. Don't get me wrong, seeing what's blocked and having the speed to get through there is a really good thing, but it would be nice to see some more yards after contact. Seems like his ability to cut back and also get to the corner and get upfield will fit what ML needs.

 

[GBP4EVER]

ttps://www.si.com/nfl/2019/04/11/dexter-williams-draft-notre-dame-mother-illness-roommate-suspension

 

[realitybytes]

Nice video mzahn. The thing you notice on most of those TDs, especially the longer ones is that he was essentially untouched.

the odd thing is that he only ran a 4.64 40, but he looks lightning fast as nobody seems to be able to catch him on those long td runs. one of those runs was for 98 yards. football speed.