Williams no longer under the radar
Wide receiver could be on the verge of having great breakout season
At what point is it going to be reasonable to predict that Preston Williams will be an NFL superstar?
Williams, who went undrafted coming out of Colorado State after the four-star recruit transferred there from the University of Tennessee, made plays regularly during last year’s training camp.
The undrafted rookie was so impressive he quickly worked his way up the depth chart to become a Week 1 starter. Beginner’s luck? Maybe.
If he were he would have been drafted, right?
Then Williams established
himself as the Dolphins’ top offensive weapon, pulling down 32 receptions for 428 yards and three touchdowns even though at times — especially early on — he was running the wrong routes in the first half of the season.
The explanation: Defenses weren’t focusing on Williams yet; they were busy steering their attention to DeVante Parker, the more established receiver.
The rookie was sliding under the radar, right?
This year Williams, who is coming back from a seasonending left knee injury nine months ago, dominated the first week of padded practices and is routinely getting the best of new cornerback Byron Jones, the highest-paid player on the Dolphins’ roster.
Latest excuse? [Insert the sound of crickets]
I’ve run out of excuses based on what we’ve seen from Williams’ during the first onfield week of training camp, where he was only supposed to get a limited amount of work as he paced himself and his reconstructed knee — but pretty much did everything.
I keep thinking Williams’
that good
standout performances will regress to the mean, and the volume on his eye-opening catches will turn down. But it hasn’t happened yet in the five sessions he’s taken part in.
Maybe Willliams, who has a unique blend of size, speed, catch radius and elusiveness, is just that good? Jarvis Landry-level good.
Nobody has been able to stop Williams on Miami’s practice field, and it’s not that the defense, or the defenders are bad considering Miami’s quarterbacks are throwing to a covered Williams and he’s still bringing down tough catches.
Let us hope that carries over to the regular season.
“Last year, I was just getting my feet wet. [I] just [want to] improve as a player from last year,” Williams said Monday. “A lot of the balls I could’ve caught, I’ve got to catch those and make those plays. Overall, just be a better player.
“The game [has] slowed down a little bit to me, so I think I’ll have a better year this year.”
If that’s the case, and Williams and Parker can remain healthy for an entire season, the Dolphins receivers would present a tough matchup because Williams, who is 6 foot 5, and Parker, who checks in at 6 foot 3, each tower over opposing cornerbacks.
And more importantly, they can move, and possess the ability to run every route in an NFL route tree.
“Preston is very unique, just in terms of his physical qualities — the height, the weight, the speed, how nimble he is … his ability to track the ball,” Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said. “Having to sit out [the second half of the 2019], you always kind of look for the silver lining or maybe the positives in a situation that isn’t so positive. Him getting hurt last year, he was able to take a step back and watch a little bit and learn the game.”
Fitzpatrick has benefited from having big, physical receivers at his disposal before. In his two seasons in New York, Brandon Marshall was his primary weapon and he pulled down 168 catches and scored 17 touchdowns in 2015 and 2016. And during his stint as a starter in Tampa Bay, Fitzpatrick developed a bond with All-Pro receiver Mike Evans, who like Williams is 6 foot 5.
Now he’s got two large split ends, and has been practicing like a kid in possession of a five dollar bill who has been let loose in the candy store.
Williams’ continued emergence has plenty to do with the offense’s early success.
“They can go up and get the ball, they’re good route-runners, they’re smart players” Fitzpatrick said referring to Parker, who led the Dolphins with 72 receptions, which he turned into 1,202 and nine touchdowns, and Williams. “I think that makes it difficult for a defense, not just being able to key in on one guy.
“The way that those guys are showing up every day, it’s given our offense, and I think our team a lot of confidence going forward.”
Dolphins fans need to cross their fingers, and hope there aren’t any setbacks between now and the Sept. 13 season opener, and that Williams picks up exactly where he left off last season, making a name for himself in the NFL.
It’s quite possible we could be witnessing the second chapter of a special career.
At this point there isn’t a reason to expect anything else from Williams.