Steelers scouting profile: Javonte Williams can do it all

Williams Pros

The first thing that pops on tape is the power that Williams runs with. While he only weighed in at 212 pounds, he is a punishing runner that rarely goes down on first contact. While he can be swarmed at times, in space a single defender rarely stops Williams. On the goal line and in short-yardage, he doesn’t shy away from lowering his head and taking on contact. Long term, his physical style of running could wear him down and lead to injuries later on, but it should lead to a physical presence in an offense in the short term.

Beyond his pure power, Williams has great burst and decent vision. Despite lacking pure speed, Williams was dominant when cutting to the outside and turning the corner. He relies on sharp cuts and initial burst to make this succeed. This gets him in space more often and allows for some one-on-one matchups that he can win against defenders.

While not a natural pass-catcher or route runner, Williams does enough to serve as a decent pass-catching running back. He isn’t Alvin Kamara, but he has a similar feel to James Conner as a receiver. He is someone that can make a decent catch and gain some additional yards as a check-down option as opposed to a pure receiver.

Tying it all together, Williams relies on his initial traits like vision and burst to open up his running lanes. Once in space, his power kicks in and he looks for ways to run over opposing defenders. Despite the lack of pure speed, he can make some big plays solely due to him getting past the line of scrimmage and breaking the first tackle in route to a solid gain.