For Williams, ‘a dream come true’
Guard chosen by Dallas; Jefferson goes to Bengals
AUSTIN — All Connor Williams could do was sit inside the AT&T center and watch as 18 men exited the green room to head off toward a new future. By the end of the 2018 NFL draft’s first round, only Williams, LSU running back Derrius Guice, Iowa cornerback Josh Jackson, and UCF linebacker Shaquem Griffin remained.
Williams’ wait finally ended Friday, when the Dallas Cowboys used the 50th pick to draft the Texas offensive lineman.
“It’s the Dallas Cowboys,” Williams said. “It’s America’s team. I live 20 minutes down the road. It’s home. To be on the phone and see my 972 area code calling, it was a dream come true.”
The selection put an end to an embarrassing stretch for one of the nation’s most storied college football programs. Prior to Williams, a Longhorns offensive lineman had not been drafted since Tony Hills in 2008, though his slip now means a first-round pick has not been used on a UT lineman in 16 years and counting.
Even so, Williams is just happy to have found a home in the NFL.
“It makes me excited that I can prove the tradition right and that offensive lineman do come out of here,” Williams said during Texas pro day. “It makes me excited for the university to be able to represent them in that way.”
Williams started 28 games at left tackle across three seasons, though a knee injury limited the 2016 All-American to five games in his final season. As a sophomore, Williams was hailed as one of the top tackles in the nation. That year he allowed just five quarterback pressures in more than 370 snaps and cleared space for 2,000yard rusher D’Onta Foreman. A comparable junior campaign would likely have solidified his status as a top-10 pick. But injury and some spotty scouting tape, coupled with arm length and weight measurements considered below the baseline for an NFL-level tackle, caused evaluators to reconsider how and where Williams might fit in the NFL. Some scouts believe the 6-5, 296pounder fits better inside as a guard or center rather than a tackle.
“On the defensive side what’s happened is, if you can find a guy that can rush from the inside it’s the fastest path to getting to the quarterback,” ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said. “A guy like (Rams defensive tackle) Aaron Donald is about to get paid a boatload of money because he’s a great player and deserves it, but also because he can get to the quarterback faster and more consistently from that three-technique spot than you can from a wide-nine when you’re rushing off the edge.
“Because of that, making sure you have a really good guard and that you’re solid along the interior has become more and more important. I think there’s more priority for teams to make sure they’re squared away at the guard position.”
Linebacker Malik Jefferson became the second Longhorn off the board when the Cincinnati Bengals selected him in the third round with the 78th overall pick.
Jefferson turned in one of the more outstanding combine performances within his positional group. The 6-2, 236-pound linebacker tied for the second-most bench press reps (27 at 225 pounds), ran the third-fastest 40-yard dash (4.52 seconds) and completed the fourth-longest broad jump (125 inches).
As a junior, Jefferson led UT with 110 total tackles and was named Big 12 codefensive player of the year. He was also named a second team All-American by the Associated Press and the Sporting News.