We are breaking down the Notre Dame football prospects ahead of the NFL Draft which begins on Thursday, April 28th in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Today we’ll take a look at one of the best running backs in modern Notre Dame history.
SPECS
Name: Kyren Williams
Position: RB
Height: 5-9 (per the NFL Combine)
Weight: 194 (per the NFL Combine)
40: 4.65 (27th out of 27 RB)
Vertical: 32 (18th out of 31 RB)
Broad: 116 (28th out of 30 RB)
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
STATS
| YEAR | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 4 | 26 | 6.5 | 0 |
| 2020 | 211 | 1125 | 5.3 | 13 |
| 2021 | 204 | 1002 | 4.9 | 14 |
| TOTAL | 419 | 2153 | 5.1 | 27 |
BIO:
Williams was a low 4-star recruit coming out of St. John Vianney high school in St. Louis. For a brief moment, it looked like he’d be in the mix as a true freshman but a bad drop early in the season seemingly put Kyren in the dog house and the team never ended up burning his redshirt to close out 2019.
In 2020, Williams was an immediate star for the Irish offense and would go on to produce 2 very impressive seasons with back-to-back 1,000 yard campaigns, plus 2,802 yards from scrimmage and 2,982 all-purpose yards for 2020-21.
STRENGTHS:
Elite escapability and elusiveness. Light feet with a strong lower-body. Hard to tackle in tight spaces but also uses his stiff arm successfully to keep defenders away from him. Not a burner but possesses good game speed. Shows good patience and vision. Smart route runner with good hands. Williams can be a devastating pass blocker. Extremely confident.
WEAKNESSES:
Top speed is a concern. Lack of overall speed at 194 pounds is a bigger concern. Exposes his body to a lot of contact for extra yardage, particularly when angled out of bounds. Questions about how he’ll hold up physically at his size. Testing does not suggest a game-changer at the pro level. He could struggle in the NFL pass blocking against longer and faster athletes.
OVERVIEW:
Williams possesses a ton of great qualities for a running back but when your weaknesses boil down to “you’re not very big or fast” it can be difficult to sell yourself. Still, his college tape is clearly productive and even more so a ton of fun to watch from an individual skill viewpoint. That has to translate to a decent career in the NFL.
PREDICTION:
4th Round, 126th Overall to the Baltimore Ravens
Every running back the Ravens had last year got hurt. This forced Baltimore to sign Latavius Murray and Devonta Freeman who would lead the tailbacks in rushing and are no longer on the books. They also signed and eventually released Le’Veon Bell, too.
The bad news is that the Ravens signed Gus Edwards to a long-term deal and have 2 years remaining on 2nd-round pick JK Dobbins’ rookie contract. That’s a $6 million cap hit for running backs so if those two are healthy then looking at another ball-carrier may not be a priority for Baltimore.
However, Williams would fit in fantastically with the run-heavy Ravens offense and could allow him to flourish as a pass-catcher too. It’d be a tremendous fit and additional cheap depth for a club looking to overcome so many season-ending injuries.
I hope he goes in round 4. Have a bad feeling that poor testing + lack of measureables + low RB position value could mean a long slide in the draft. Really good RBs go in the 6th, 7th, undrafted. Really hope he goes to a good team or a right kind of stable team with a good running game (TEN, NE, GB, IND, BAL, etc), could be the most crucial part of his career future.
I agree with this. Round 4 is probably his absolute ceiling. But what round he goes in is more indicative of the RB position than what his career will look like.
You have to almost add 2 rounds to get a decent bet on what kind of career he’ll have since RBs are often taken roughly 2 rounds lower than they used to be or you would think they would of someone of similar talent at a different position.
IMO, Williams’ versatility is going to make him very popular with whatever team ultimately drafts him. Very few holes in his game, and although he’s not a burner, his speed plays up on the field. If health works in his favor, I think Kyren will ultimately have a pro career that makes his draft position look like a significant bargain.
In the last five years there have been 60 RBs drafted by the end of the fourth round, so 12 per year. I know lots of people have been enjoying jumping up and down on Kyren’s NFL career’s grave after his poor testing, but anyone who thinks there are a dozen better RBs in the draft than KW is absolutely insane.
I maintain his film is top two or three, so if he’s not off the board with a team willing to take a very small chance on a very good football player by the end of the second day whoever gets him in the fourth round is getting a steal.