Why Wasn’t Greedy Williams Taken in the 1st Round?
Every year at the NFL Draft, there are some big time winners and some big time losers. Sadly, this year's biggest loser is Shreveport's own Greedy Williams. The former LSU Defenseback was projected to be picked somewhere between 15 and 20, but ended up falling out of the first round completely. Today, everyone is asking why.
Well, I don't have any NFL sources or inside information. But, what I do have is a brain and a fairly decent understanding of how the NFL works.
The kid is a tremendous athlete and, according to his scouting grade, was considered an instant starter. So, why didn't anyone take him? I think the major issue is a shift in attitude from NFL executives.
In a recent interview with former punter Pat McAfee, Indianapolis Colts GM Chris Ballard said that during the draft they focus on filling their team needs with talent that they believe fit in their culture. When McAfee asked Ballard to expand on that, he said if it came down to a guy with superb talent or a solid player that he believe has a strong character, he's going to take the guy with character. He explained that if someone is going to be a good teammate and is willing to put the system first, that supersedes any other ability.
With tons of off field issues plaguing the NFL, I think a lot of front offices are shifting to that mindset. And I think that's where Greedy falls short. From what I can tell, Williams isn't a kid know for off the field issues, but he may have gotten some bad advice at exactly the wrong time.
Not only did Greedy decide to be a "bad" teammate by not playing in LSU's Bowl game this year, he only participated in some of the combine workouts and his agent (allegedly) would not allow Williams to have one on one interviews/workouts with NFL teams. Which, in most years, probably wouldn't have mattered. But, this year, was one of the most stacked years in recent history. You had great defensive linemen, linebackers and quarterbacks...you had to do everything right this year and Greedy just didn't do anything to give him an edge on the competition.
Plus, despite the fact quality corners are hard to come by, only one Corner was taken in the 1st round: Deandre Baker from Georgia. And honestly, Baker is a distant second to Williams in talent. Baker also skipped his Bowl game and allegedly had not so great meetings with teams. But is a bad meeting better than no meeting? Apparently so. I guess showing up and being bad is better than not putting in any effort at all. Something put Baker ahead of Williams in the eyes of a lot of NFL teams...and I can't imagine it had anything to do with on-field talent.
With all that said, Williams was and still is the most talented corner in the Draft. His elite speed, decision making abilities and several intangibles that you just can't teach will get him on a team. He will go early today and will be more than likely the first defensive back player to come off the board.
He will be a tremendous player. He will represent Shreveport well in the NFL. He'll just be doing it as a 2nd round draft pick and not a prestigious 1st round pick.