Why the Oakland Raiders Should Draft Marcus Williams
Oakland’s 2016 playoff push ended in tragic fashion as Derek Carr went down with a horrific injury against the Colts. However, the young, resilient team is still shooting for a Super Bowl before relocation to Las Vegas in 2019. While their offense put up fantastic numbers with Carr at quarterback, the Oakland defense still has some holes to fill if they want to run the AFC in 2017.
With the NFL draft looming, the Raiders should look to draft a safety that can have an immediate impact and support the young Karl Joseph and aging Reggie Nelson (34 years old in September). While the top two highest rated free-safeties (Malik Hooker of Ohio State and Budda Baker of Washington) are projected to go first round, Utah’s Marcus Williams, rated nearly as high, is projected to go in the second round, giving Oakland a great opportunity to snatch a free-safety with immense potential.
College Success
A First Team All Pac 12 safety, Williams recorded five interceptions, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries in 2016. He also had five interceptions the year before. At 6’0.5, 195, he is not a prototypical hard-hitter like his potential teammate, Karl Joseph. Instead, Williams is a center-fielder type of safety covers a lot of field and make plays on deep balls. This attribute forced even the great Pac-12 quarterbacks to hesitate any time they looked deep. Williams was truly a defensive catalyst for Utah in 2016. In the two games he missed, Utah’s defense gave up an average of 325 passing yards per game (243.2 average with Williams), including a 464 yard performance against UCLA immediately following Williams’ injury. His incredible speed (4.56 forty yard dash), vertical (38”), and range have left fans, scouts, and opposing quarterbacks in awe.
Competitor
Williams’ strength and speed allowed him to record 64 tackles as a member of a subpar Utah secondary. Scouts have highlighted his “natural instincts” and “hip action” as reasons why he is a standout defensive back, not to mention the fact that he was a First Team Big VIII League receiver in high school. A starter since his freshman year, Williams has only missed two of thirty-seven games, proving his reliability and consistency.
Intelligence
Williams’ competitiveness and success does not only come on the field. As a First Team Pac 12 All-Academic, Marcus was pursuing a civil engineering degree at the University Utah. Even before college, Williams’ averaged a 4.0 GPA in high school. This intelligence and responsibility should look very promising to Raider’s coach Jack Del Rio, as he tries to challenge the reputation of the Raider’s organization, which led the NFL with 147 accepted penalties in 2016 (second: JAX, 129).
The Right Choice
The University of Utah has a history of sending defensive backs to the NFL. However, Marcus Williams could be the most impactful Ute since Eric Weddle was drafted ten years earlier. His range and football IQ would be a fantastic compliment to the playmaking abilities of Karl Joseph. As Reggie Nelson reaches the final year of his contract, Williams will have time to establish himself as his successor. It is time for the Raiders to attempt deep playoff run before the Black Hole moves to to Sin City.
