With their pick in Round 4 in the 2024 Draft GB Selects Evan Williams, safety, Oregon

[Mark87]

As A Senior (2023):
>> Coaches All-Pac-12 second team
>> Phil Steele All-Pac-12 third team

An all-Pac-12 second-team selection in lone season as Duck … Started Oregon’s last 13 games after missing the season opener due to injury … Led the Ducks with 82 total tackles while racking up a career-high 4.5 sacks and 5.0 tackles for loss … Added two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and two pass breakups … Ranked second among Ducks and led all Pac-12 defensive backs with 4.5 sacks … Made multiple tackles in all 13 games played, including eight games with five-plus tackles … Second among Ducks with 744 defensive snaps played while earning a 76.0 overall grade from Pro Football Focus … Also received an 89.1 pass-rush grade, a 72.9 tackling grade, a 72.2 coverage grade and a 72.0 run-defense grade from PFF … Credited by PFF with eight pressures generated … at Texas Tech (Sept. 9): Made four solo tackles in Oregon debut … vs. No. 19 Colorado (Sept. 23): Recorded 1.5 sacks and four tackles in Oregon’s dominant top-25 win … at Stanford (Sept. 30): Logged a sack for the second game in a row while finishing with seven total tackles … Season-bests in tackling (86.3) and run-defense (82.3) grade from PFF … vs. Washington State (Oct. 21): Racked up a career-high 14 total tackles (eight solo), most by a Duck in 2023 and most by an Oregon defender since his brother, Bennett Williams, had 14 against Utah in 2022 … Added a sack for the third time in four games … Earned a season-best 82.0 overall grade and an 82.5 coverage grade from PFF … at No. 13 Utah (Oct. 28): assisted on a TFL while making seven total tackles … vs. USC (Nov. 11): Forced and recovered a fumble, recorded a sack and finished with nine total tackles (six solo) … vs. No. 3 Washington (Dec. 1): Impressed in the Pac-12 Championship Game with eight total tackles and two quarterback hurries … vs. No. 23 Liberty (Jan. 1): Closed collegiate career with three tackles in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.

As A Junior at Fresno State (2022):
>> All-Mountain West second team (Coaches and Media)
>> Phil Steele All-Mountain West second team

Named second-team All-Mountain West … Selected second-team All-MW by Phil Steele … Started all 10 games played … Picked as a three-time team captain … Finished second on the team with 66 tackles (54 solo) while adding 6.0 tackles for loss, a sack, four pass breakups and a blocked punt … Led the team in tackles in two games … Made at least four tackles in every game and a TFL in seven … Ended the season with five consecutive games with a TFL … vs. Cal Poly (Sept. 1): Opened the season with eight tackles (6 solo) and matched a career best with 1.5 TFLs … vs. Oregon State (Sept. 10): Finished with nine tackles (8 solo), a TFL and a career-high three pass breakups … vs. San Diego State (Oct. 24): Notched eight tackles and added a pass breakup … at UNLV (Nov. 11): Had nine tackles, including seven solo stops, and a half TFL … at Nevada (Nov. 19): Made four tackles (all solo) and had a TFL … vs. Wyoming (Nov. 26): Finished with six tackles (5 solo), 0.5 TFL and a blocked punt … vs Washington State (Dec. 17): Ended the season with seven tackles (all solo), a TFL and first career sack.

As A Sophomore at Fresno State (2021):
>> All-Mountain West first team (Coaches and Media)
>> Phil Steele All-Mountain West first team
>> Pro Football Focus All-Mountain West first team
>> Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week (Week 9)

Named an All-Mountain West first-team selection by the conference coaches and media, Phil Steele and Pro Football Focus … Started all 13 games at safety … Ended the season with 95 tackles (61 solo), 4.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and six pass breakups … Finished the season as the team’s leader in tackles, interceptions and pass breakups … Ended the season ninth in tackles in the Mountain West … Notched five double-digit tackle games, the most by a Bulldog defensive back since 2016 … Part of a Bulldog defense that only allowed 20.5 points per game, holding two opponents scoreless, the first time since 2017 with multiple shutouts in a season … Selected CoSIDA Academic All-District … at No. 11 Oregon (Sept. 4): Had his first career double-digit tackle performance, racking up 12 tackles and a pass breakup … vs. Cal Poly (Sept. 11): Finished with five tackles (all solo), a TFL, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery … at No. 13 UCLA (Sept. 24): Matched season-best 12 tackles (six solo) in upset of the Bruins … at Wyoming (Oct. 16): Notched seven tackles (four solo), half a TFL and two interceptions, the first multi-interception game of career … at Nevada (Oct. 23): Finished with 10 tackles, 1.5 TFLs and a fumble recovery … at No. 21 San Diego State (Oct. 30): Named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week after racking up a career-high 13 tackles (10 solo), a TFL, an interception and two pass breakups … vs. Boise State (Nov. 6): Made 10 tackles (8 solo) and two pass breakups, the third consecutive game with double-digit tackles and fifth such game of the season … at San Jose State (Nov. 25): Had eight tackles, including four solo stops.


As A Sophomore at Fresno State (2020):
>> All-Mountain West honorable mention (Coaches and Media)
>> Phil Steele All-Mountain West fourth team

Tabbed as an All-Mountain West honorable mention selection … Started in four games of the pandemic-shortened season while being injured for two … Finished with 27 tackles (20 solo), third most on the team, half a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, two pass breakups and a blocked kick … Led the team in tackles in two games … Voted a team captain as a true sophomore … Named to the fall academic All-Mountain West team … vs. Colorado State (Oct. 29): Finished with a team-leading eight tackles (seven solo) and a pass breakup … at UNLV (Nov. 7): Had eight tackles (all solo stops) for the second consecutive game … at Utah State (Nov. 14): Finished with seven tackles (three solo), half a TFL, a forced fumble and a pass breakup.

As A Freshman at Fresno State (2019):
>> Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week (Week 9)

Appeared in all 12 games as a true freshman, making five starts … The first Fresno State freshman to be named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week and the first to pick up a player of the week since 2013 after performance against Hawaii … Finished the season with 40 tackles (31 solo), an interception, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and two pass breakups … at USC (Aug. 31): Made first career tackle in collegiate debut … at Hawaii (Nov. 2): Earned first career start and made an instant impact, ending with nine tackles (7 solo), first career interception and a pass breakup en route to Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week honors … vs. Utah State (Nov. 9): Had nine tackles (8 solo) for the second consecutive game … vs. Nevada (Nov. 23): Finished with nine tackles (8 solo), first career forced fumble and a fumble recovery, marking the third time in four games with nine tackles … at San Jose State (Nov. 30): Ended true freshman campaign with seven tackles (3 solo) and a pass breakup.

High School
Rated a three-star recruit by 247Sports … Viewed by 247Sports as the No. 137 safety and the No. 167 player in California … As a senior, finished with 891 receiving yards and became Saint Francis High School’s all-time TD reception leader in a season and career … Selected as the 2018 CIF-Central Coast Section All-Around Player of the Year … Named the West Catholic Athletic League Player of the Year in 2018 … Chosen as a first team All-Nor Cal selection … As a junior, helped the Lancers’ to a CIF Division 2-A state title … High school coach was Greg Calcagno … Also recruited by Air Force, Colorado State, Columbia, Montana State and UC Davis.

Personal
Brother, Bennett Williams, played defensive back for the Ducks from 2020 to 2022

 

[GBP4EVER]

Saw this posted

Good all around safety. Good pass rusher from the spot. Nice in the box tackler. Tough. Closes quickly.Not fluid in coverage. Struggles if he doesn't have momentum. Hips get caught swinging.

 

[Mark87]

SCOUTING REPORT: STRENGTHS​

• Lean, athletic build with plenty of room for additional muscle mass. Legitimate NFL-caliber athlete.
• Fluid mover with decent speed and his length allows him to cover effectively downfield
• He’s excellent in run support, a physical hitter who could also get a look at safety
• Tracks the ball well and has the natural ball skills for forcing turnovers.
• Can get up on the line of scrimmage and deliver a solid punch early in routes, then use that quickness to shadow, or back off and close quickly when the ball comes out
• Alert defender for zone coverage, showing good understanding of route progressions occurring behind him and a quick burst downhill to break on underneath passes in front of him.

SCOUTING REPORT: WEAKNESSES​

• Rght now he’s only capable of playing in trail position, and even then he’d likely be draw a lot of flags.
• Has poor recognition skills when facing the action in zone coverage.
• Despite his size, he’s not an overly physical tackler. Williams might have to add some weight at the next level in order to become more physical.
• Has a very high missed tackle ratio

 

[GBP4EVER]

Did not Hafley say he wants his safety to play more middle of the field? Would this guy fit that?

 

[realitybytes]

Williams was a tad more consistent in 2022 while at Fresno State, but he was also put in better position to succeed. He is broad-hipped with limited agility and athleticism to align too far away from the line of scrimmage. He’s a box safety with a good feel for finding entry points and making tackles near the line. He can match up underneath and is average in zone but will allow too many big plays against NFL wideouts. He has a chance to impress on special teams but inconsistent open-field tackling could hurt his chances of becoming a viable backup strong safety.

Strengths​

• Plays with the mindset of a linebacker and good stopping power.
• Knows where entry points are located as a run defender in the box.
• Rushes downhill to make hits on pass catchers.
• Does a nice job of closing out crossing routes from high safety.
• Rough-and-tumble play demeanor fits special teams mold.

Weaknesses​

• Frame looks less athletic and more broad and burly.
• Will struggle against run and pass when aligned in big space.
• Below-average anticipation to the route in man coverage.
• Lacks long speed to close the distance over the top.
• Missing reactive athleticism to keep missed tackle total from piling up.

 

[Mark87]

Did not Hafley say he wants his safety to play more middle of the field? Would this guy fit that?

Nope, struggles in single high.

 

[Cheesedog]

Sounds like he’s only good for short middle routes and run downs. Weird pick.

 

[57packer]

More of a box only guy, but that's OK. Coverage is not his thing, but he's a willing tackler which will make hafley happy. Another guy who may have to make his mark initially as a special teamer and role player on defense. Use him near the LOS against the run and to blitz off the edge.

 

[realitybytes]

honestly think that pick should have been used on a cb like dj james, caelin carson, nehemiah pritchett, or maybe even tj tampa.

 

[57packer]

honestly think that pick should have been used on a cb like dj james, caelin carson, nehemiah pritchett, or maybe even tj tampa.

Yup, this is the first pick that's a head-scratcher. He's got okay speed but not overly athletic. He's not very versatile or interchangeable as a safety. On top of it, Gute traded up for him. They must really have liked something about him. Hopefully it works out. I'll give Gute a little benefit of the doubt.