Andre Williams | Running Back
Giants selected Boston College RB Andre Williams with the No. 113 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft.
Williams (5-foot-11 3/8, 230) was the 2013 Doak Walker Award winner as college football's top running back, setting school records in carries (355) and rushing yards (2,177). He averaged 5.31 YPC on 703 career attempts, scoring 28 touchdowns. Although Williams ran 4.56 with a beastly 10-foot-9 broad jump in Indy, he's more of a grinder on tape, almost like a bigger BenJarvus Green-Ellis. He is a decisive, downhill runner with zero shake and has hands of stone, managing 10 catches across 44 college games and relentlessly dropping passes in Combine drills. Some NFL scouts have compared him to Shonn Greene. May 10 - 12:52 PM
An anonymous NFL scout compared Boston College RB Andre Williams to Shonn Greene.
"Really tough kid," one scout said. "If you want somebody to carry the ball 25 times a game between the tackles this is your guy. He's an old-time running back. He would do better without a rotation just wearing people down. Not real elusive, but once he gets out there he just makes plays." The 6-foot, 227-pound Williams finished No. 5 amongst RBs in the paper's poll of NFL scouts. "Lacks twitch, elude," said a second scout. "Strong, tight, downhill, straight-line runner. Needs a lane." A third quoted scout thrashed Williams: "Worst hands I've ever seen. I never even saw them pitch it to him. You would be crazy to pitch it to him. It's so bad, you feel bad for the kid. I saw a game and the pregame was atrocious. He's working on it, but it's, like, 'What have you been doing for four years?'" May 4 - 9:29 PM
Boston College RB Andre Williams improved on his 4.56 second forty from the combine at the Eagles' pro day.
Williams, however, elected not to share the new number with the media. The 6-foot, 227-pound back showed improvement as a pass catcher at the event, according to NFL.com's Gil Brandt. He's coming off a season in which he won the Doak Walker award and set the school's single-season rushing record with 2,177 yards on 355 attempts. "Today, for me, I really wanted to improve on my 40 and just perform better at catching the ball," Williams said. "I think I did very well on both of those, and it was a good day for me." Gushed BC coach Steve Addazio: "A lot of NFL teams are looking for big, strong running backs, first- and second-down running backs that can pass protect. He's tremendous in pass protection and can stop a linebacker on a dime. He can get that 4-yard carry for you and he has home run hitting capability, and I think that's what makes him very attractive." Mar 17 - 6:32 PM
NFL.com's Gil Brandt believes that Boston College RB Andre Williams showed improvement as a pass catcher, at Boston College’s pro day.
"Williams had a good workout, and most important for him, he showed dramatic improvement catching the football, with only two drops at his pro day. That’s something everyone will be checking on when they evaluate him, because if he does that he’ll have an excellent chance to advance in the draft," Brandt wrote. No one questions Williams skills as a downhill-runner, but the NFL is a passing league these days and he'll have to prove he can be effective on passing downs. Williams did not catch one pass last season for the Eagles, but his recent performance at his Pro Day was a step in the right direction. While Brandt was high on Williams running ability, He thinks Williams could slip to the third or fourth round because of his receiving skills. Mar 17 - 12:23 AM