2020 NFL Draft: Darryl Williams faces key matchup against LSU
By Dan Matney
Mississippi State center Darryl Williams is one of the top senior center prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft, and his matchup against LSU will play a large part in his NFL evaluation.
Williams is a 6-foot-3, 310-pound fifth-year team captain that displays NFL-caliber traits. He has a compact build and also has two-year of starting experience at left guard.
He displays impressive quickness for the position and is explosive off of the line of scrimmage.
Williams uses his smaller stature to his advantage as a run blocker and he does a nice job winning the leverage battle. He gets underneath his assignment with quickness and uses a quick initial punch to extend and drive his assignment.
He has average play strength and isn’t exactly a bully, but Williams displays the ability to generate enough push to create and open running lanes at the point-of-attack.
He uses his athletic balance and quickness to his advantage as a puller and displays the ability to execute when he gets to his spot.
Williams is an effective combo blocker and displays impressive quickness working to the 2nd level. He quickly established effective body positioning and can square up and seal out linebackers, and his ability to do so has helped the Bulldogs spring a few big runs.
He’s still putting it together in pass protection, but Williams is an effective help blocker that has the quickness to get to his spot in slide protection.
Williams fires his hands quickly off the snap and can win the leverage battle in pass protection, but he could have issues against power rushers at the next level. He has the grip strength to sustain when he gets locked inside, but Williams tends to give up a yard or two on initial contact and struggles to drop the anchor at times.
The matchup against LSU will afford evaluators the opportunity to see how Williams handles NFL-caliber power on the interior.
Tyler Shelton is a big, physical presence at nose tackle for the Tigers. While Williams will draw a ton of reps against Shelton, it will be very interesting to see how he fares when lined up against Rashard Lawrence.
Lawrence is one of the top senior defensive tackles in the 2020 NFL Draft and while he’s generally asked to play 3-5 technique, he will see some reps at 0 and 1-techniques. He’s a headache to deal with no matter where he lines up, and he could provide a useful measuring point as to where Williams is vs. NFL-caliber power.
Williams displays the traits to potentially develop into a starting center at the next level, and a strong performance will go a long way to prove he’s worthy of an early round pick.
The positional value of centers will naturally knock down his likely draft positioning, but Williams could work himself into Day 2 consideration if he continues to perform at a high level.