Tag: Joshua Williams

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is proud to see HBCU players drafted into the NFL

#Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes took time after OTAs to discuss his excitement about more HBCU players drafted into the NFL. | from @EdEastonJr

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The visibility of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) athletics continues to take positive steps and get the appropriate attention that has been overdue in recent years. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been a very public supporter of HBCU sports and its need for more acknowledgment in the mainstream sports world.

One of Mahomes’ new teammates is rookie cornerback Joshua Williams, one of only four HBCU players drafted this past April. The former league MVP took time after training to discuss his excitement about the addition of more HBCU players into the NFL during Thursday’s press conference following OTAs.

“Yeah, I mean, it was super exciting for me,” Mahomes said. “When you look back, they didn’t have a player drafted last year. And then now to have four guys going. You just wanted to shed light on these guys. They’re guys that are super talented, they’re playing in a competitive division and you want to give them that platform. I think the HBCU bowl game gave them that, and you saw that they got on that platform, they made plays happen. They had the combine as well. And then you got four guys getting drafted and more in camps. And so I think just kind of giving them that light and then letting them go do what they’ve been doing. And they’ve been doing it for a long time. So we give them that platform, and they made the most of it.”

Mahomes served as an honorary captain at this year’s inaugural HBCU Legacy Bowl and his foundation agreed to a multi-year partnership with the event. The postseason all-star game features approximately 100 of the top draft-eligible prospects from HBCUs.

The Chiefs added a talented player in Williams from Fayetteville State, an HBCU, further showing the franchise is in sync with their star quarterback. As time goes on, expect the numbers of HBCU talent in the NFL to grow as these players have even more opportunities to showcase their talents.

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Chiefs rookie CB Joshua Williams discusses transition from HBCU football to the NFL

#Chiefs CB Joshua Williams knows that even coming from an HBCU, it’s a level playing field now that he’s made it to the NFL. | from @EdEastonJr

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Power 5 conference schools may produce the most NFL talent, but lesser celebrated schools have long cultivated top-tier players for the league. Look no further than the Hall of Fame to see it riddled with players from HBCUs.

Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach has honed in on finding hidden gems late in draft classes, and the selection of cornerback Joshua Williams out of Fayetteville State has the potential to be his latest discovery. Williams, the NCAA Division II standout, spoke about his biggest challenges making the pro transition and his pride in attending an HBCU during Monday’s rookie minicamp press conference.

“The biggest transition would probably be just making sure I know what the differences between the NFL playbooks and the NFL offenses that I see now compared to college playbooks and college offenses,” Williams explained.  “So just kind of taking that step up, expanding my mind, expanding my knowledge. I think, this weekend was a huge learning experience, and I think I got better.”

Williams became Fayetteville State’s first Senior Bowl selection in 2021 and earned first-team All-Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association accolades with 31 tackles, three interceptions, and six pass breakups. He expressed his pride openly for playing at a historically black college, but he also knows that making it to the NFL was the hard part.

“Well, of course, I love all HBCUs, and I’m very proud of where I came from,” said Williams. “But at the same time, at this level, nobody really cares where you came from. It’s all about results, honestly. So, I’m kind of just focusing on that, being a professional, getting used to it. Of course, I’m definitely prideful of where I came from, and I’m blessed to be where I am and to have experienced everything I have. At the same time, I’m very humbled and eager to fit in here.”

Williams became the first Fayetteville State NFL draftee since 1976 when he was selected by Kansas City in the fourth round. Even though he didn’t attend a Division I school, he knows that he’s on equal footing with his new teammates. Now, Williams just needs to put in the work to ensure the results show on the field.

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SKOL Search: Predicting the Vikings 2022 NFL draft class

It’s time to lock in the draft class predictions.

On Monday, I wrote about what I would do with the Vikings draft class. It went a different direction than I was expecting, but it ended up looking really good.

For this mock draft, there isn’t a lot we can surmise from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. However, I can confidently predict he will do three things

  1. Target premium positions with premium picks
  2. Maximize the market
  3. Select younger players with premium picks

This is strictly projection based on how the organizations Adofo-Mensah previously worked for operated. It is something that I feel confident in because of his background and belief in analytics and data.

This mock draft will be made with those things in mind. But also keep this in mind, there can be selections that happen outside of these parameters based on how the board falls and if the talent value is too good to pass up.

After two months of focusing on exploring different possibilities, it’s time to predict. Here is my best projection for how the Vikings will draft this upcoming weekend using The Draft Network’s Mock Draft Simulator.

Rams 2022 Draft Prospect Profile: Joshua Williams (CB, Fayetteville State)

Joshua Williams has seemingly gone overlooked in the pre-draft process and he could be a mid-round steal for the Rams in the 2022 NFL draft.

The cornerback position has been a strength for the Los Angeles Rams over the past few years, especially when the team acquired Jalen Ramsey via trade from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Darious Williams, who has been Ramsey’s running mate on the Rams on the opposite side of the field, signed with Ramsey’s former team this offseason.

With Williams now a member of the Jaguars, the Rams could seek out a replacement in the 2022 NFL draft. As of this moment, Robert Rochell and David Long Jr. could be in store for expanded roles next season, but I’d venture to say that Los Angeles will undeniably consider selecting a cornerback in the draft.

Less than a week before the draft begins, I’ll be concluding my draft prospect profiles for the Rams, where I’ll pinpoint a few cornerbacks that they could pursue in the draft. After highlighting Cam Taylor-Britt as a potential option, Joshua Williams out of Fayetteville State could also make sense for Los Angeles.

ESPN’s 7-round NFL mock draft would be a dream scenario for Broncos

This mock draft has OT Bernhard Raimann falling to the Broncos in the 2nd round, followed by ILB Chad Muma and OLB Nik Bonitto in the 3rd round.

ESPN’s Jordan Reid recently published a complete seven-round 2022 NFL mock draft (subscription required for link), including all eight picks for the Denver Broncos.

With their first pick in Reid’s mock, the Broncos select Central Michigan offensive tackle Bernhard Raimann at No. 64 overall. This would be a dream scenario for Denver because Raimann falling to the bottom of the second round would be a surprise.

The Broncos get another gem in the third round when Wyoming linebacker Chad Muma falls to them at No. 75. Denver landing Raimann and Muma without having to make any trades would be a great start to the draft.

After that, the Broncos land Oklahoma edge defender Nik Bonitto, which would represent another smart value selection at No. 96 overall.

To finish out the draft, Denver selects Fayetteville State cornerback Joshua Williams (No. 115), BYU running back Tyler Allgeier (No. 116), Tennessee defensive back Alontae Taylor (No. 145), Florida offensive tackle Jean Delance (No. 206) and Iowa safety Dane Belton (No. 232).

This would be a fantastic draft for the Broncos as it would fill the biggest needs of OT, ILB, OLB, RB and CB with excellent candidates.

The first five picks alone would make this mock an A+ class. To view the complete seven-round mock draft, visit ESPN (subscription required).

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Chiefs hosted CBs Joshua Williams, Samuel Womack on top-30 visits

The #Chiefs hosted a pair of talented cornerback prospects on top-30 visits according to a new report.

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We’re continuing to learn more about the Kansas City Chiefs’ top-30 visits with two new cornerback visits reported on Tuesday.

According to Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline, the Chiefs have hosted both Fayetteville State CB Joshua Williams and Toledo CB Samuel Womack on top-30 visits. That brings our total tally up to four workouts and visits with cornerback prospects and those all happen to be prospects who are viewed as Day 2 or Day 3 draft picks.

Williams (6-3 and 195 pounds) might be the HBCU player drafted the highest in the 2022 NFL draft. He was invited to both the Senior Bowl and the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine and he stood out at both events. At the Senior Bowl, Williams played a tight and physical brand of coverage both in practice and during the game. At the combine, he posted a 4.53s 40-yard dash, a 36-inch vertical and a 124-inch broad jump.

Williams projects as an outside cornerback at the next level and likely comes off the board in the middle rounds of the draft. Late Day 2 and early Day 3 is his expected range.

A walk-on at Toledo, Womack (5-9 and 190 pounds) is the school record holder for pass breakups with 39 PBUs in 41 games played across five seasons. He also managed 126 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, five interceptions, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery during the course of his career. Womack wasn’t invited to the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine or the Senior Bowl, but he did stand out at his pro day where he posted a 4.39s 40-yard dash, a 36-inch vertical, a 118-inch broad jump, a 4.18s shuttle run and a 6.87s 3-cone.

Womack is rather undersized, which likely puts him in Day 3 and priority undrafted free agent range. As Pauline mentioned in his report, his 32-inch arms help offset some of the size issues that he might run into in the NFL.

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7 potential Eagles targets that stood out the most during the Senior Bowl

7 potential #Eagles targets that stood out the most during the #SeniorBowl #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE #NFLDraft2022

The path to the NFL draft started in Mobile, Alabama this weekend after several impressive days of practice, college football’s top senior players put on quite the performance as Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder led the National team to 20-10 win over American team.

Ridder threw two touchdown passes on the day and the National team led by Boye Mafe logged eight sacks in the exhibition matchup.

Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett was 6-of-6 passing for 89 yards and a touchdown despite only playing the first quarter, while Liberty’s Malik Willis led all rushers in the game, but had moments where he struggled as a passer, amassing just 11 yards.

With three first round picks, the Eagles will have an opportunity to amass talent on both sides of the ball and here are the seven prospects that stood out the most on Saturday.