Chicago Bears Draft Scout: Connor Williams

Could Connor Williams help give the Chicago Bears a boost?

Connor Williams has been on a national scene since a freshman, when he was named a freshman All-American as the left tackle at Texas. A highly notarized left tackle at a big school is going to get NFL draft fans excited. His sophomore year featured All-American honors at left tackle and only raised the bar. Compared to the enormous trajectory of being an all-time great prospect his junior season did not live up to the hype and injuries among other questions  were brought up moving forward. Where does he rank and could he be an option for the Chicago Bears?

Measurables

Age: 21

School: Texas

Strengths

Williams is the epitome of offensive lineman. A physical man who wants to grind and finish blocks with toughness. Williams is always finishing blocks and winning the battle of physicality and the war of attrition.

Williams uses this to be a proficient power run blocker. He does a great job of moving bodies, holding blocks, sealing edges and even getting into the second level as a physical run blocker.

Williams is a locker room leader and a tackle who preaches good technique and work ethic. It shows on his tape as he is efficient in movement and tends to bring a high floor.

Weaknesses

The biggest question with Williams will be his arm length. There are times where bigger, quicker edge rushers can get under and around his reach in the backfield. As shown on the play below, his lack of reach can get to him around the edge.

It can also get to him in terms of leveraging strength. Defensive ends with longer reach can get their hands on him first, and control the leverage. This is going to be a bigger problem in the NFL, as most tackles have to meet a threshold.

This could end up resulting in a move to guard for Williams. With his run blocking and power he could fare extremely well at guard. It does affect his overall value in the scope of the NFL draft, though.