The Packers certainly liked what they saw, trading up 15 spots in the fourth round to take Williams and surrendering a sixth-round pick to the Jets in the swap.
Green Bay’s national scout, Sam Seale, who has spent the bulk of a long scouting career on the West Coast, said Williams was squarely on his radar at Fresno State. He then proved he could make a smooth transition to a new program and system, which should bode well as he now moves up to the NFL.
“It took him a while to get used to Oregon, but once he got it down like the second or third game of the year, I thought he took off and looked like the player he was at Fresno,” Seale said.
“He’s smart, he’s instinctive, he’s a good kid and he makes tackles. He’s always around the ball.”
He also was around the quarterback a lot his final year at Oregon, playing close to the line of scrimmage and getting called on to blitz. He racked up 4½ sacks, an impressive number for a defensive back and tied for the second-most among all DBs in the FBS.
In his pre-draft meetings with the Packers – at the Senior Bowl, combine and via Zoom with multiple coaches – Williams suggested new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley liked his blitzing abilities and how they fit some of his pressure packages.
It gave Williams the idea the Packers were high on him, and now he’s joining fellow safety draft pick, Georgia’s Javon Bullard from the second round, in Green Bay.
The two safeties were Senior Bowl standouts, voted the best at their positions on their respective teams. Williams called Bullard “my guy” and “physical as hell,” and he’s looking forward to being teammates with him now.
He considers himself a player who can “cause havoc” with his “tenacity” and “motor.”
Williams admitted to being a bit speechless upon getting the call from the Packers very early on Saturday, perhaps expecting to have to wait longer to be chosen.
But he’s a typical Packers draft pick who displays versatility in terms of positional alignment and skills, and he played his share of special teams in college, too, which is probably where he’ll have a chance to make the biggest impact as a rookie.
“He’ll fit into our locker room because he’s a good guy,” Seale said. “We won’t have to worry about him.”
