On Saturday morning, the Philadelphia Eagles waived cornerback Greedy Williams.
A second-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2019, Williams was viewed as a talented cornerback prospect that has good size. At 6’2″ and 185 lbs, there is a nice profile to work with. Unfortunately, injuries have hindered his development.
- 2019: Hamstring (4 games)
- 2020: Shoulder nerve (season)
- 2021: Shoulder (1 game)
- 2022: None, but did not play in 6 games
Coming out of LSU, which has been a hotbed for the Minnesota Vikings, Williams was viewed as a year-one starter by NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein.
Long, athletic cornerback who is more smooth and fluid than twitchy and sudden in his coverage. Williams has the instincts and tools to play a variety of coverages, but his length and pattern-matching talent will likely get him drafted to handle press-man duties. His ball production dropped a little from 2017 and he continued to struggle with finding the ball downfield, but he is rarely ever out of position. He needs to get stronger and more competitive in run support, but he has the talent and traits to become a CB1.
That ball production never came back, as Williams only had two interceptions and 12 passes defended across 39 games, 21 of which were starts.
Here is where the intrigue comes in. While he wasn’t with the front office when Williams was drafted, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was a part of the front office for two seasons while Williams was there, including during his best season in 2021, where he had his two interceptions and 10 passes defended.
While we don’t know what Adofo-Mensah thinks of Williams, the cornerback depth is not great right now. Taking a shot at a player who came into the league with a lot of talent and upside is a good idea, especially since Williams is only 25 years old.
With both Akayleb Evans and Mekhi Blackmon having suffered injuries in Thursday’s practice, looking at cornerback depth is a smart move, especially one with potential upside.
Williams’ skillset would translate to Brian Flores’ defense, as his length would give players problems in space.
The move would also fit the Adofo-Mensah Moneyball-style playbook in taking a shot on a young player that hasn’t lived up to his potential with limited investment. He has done so with Jalen Reagor, Ross Blacklock, and N’Keal Harry without a lot of success, but you can’t win the lottery without buying a ticket.
The idea is simple: take a chance on a player who hasn’t lived up to expectations and hope they can do so. Theoretically, they will at least become role players at a fixed cost.
Getting depth at cornerback will likely be a priority heading into the final preseason game and Williams is as good of a pick as anyone. There is no guarantee that it will work out, but the raw ability is there and it’s a training camp depth signing who you would hope shows enough to make the practice squad.
Take the shot, you never know what might happen.
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