South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Dolphins rookie a cautionary star
Undrafted WR Williams opens eyes in camp after 2017 arrest dropped stock
This always is fun. Always. No matter how many young names you see blaze with hope across the summer sky, it never gets old seeing the next one arrive.
“I haven’t done anything yet,” rookie receiver Preston Williams said after the Miami Dolphins’ preseason opener Thursday night against the Atlanta Falcons.
And, yes, that’s true. The undrafted receiver hasn’t done anything in his opening steps beyond what good talent typically does.
“If they don’t bite as puppies, they usually don’t,” Bill Parcells liked to say of rookies and lasting impressions.
Go down the list of the greatest Dolphins. Center Dwight Stephenson was such an immovable object from his first practice that blocking schemes were soon built around him.
Zach Thomas wasn’t just moved to starting middle linebacker his first training camp. Rookie Jack Del Rio was cut to make room for him. Jason Taylor played so fast and free in his first few weeks coach Jimmy Johnson told his staff he could be a great one.
The legend of Dan Marino begins with Bob Kuechenberg turning to Don Shula after a pass in their first practice and saying, “You got something.”
Yes, this is the point in the story where the caution sign is raised that no one’s putting Williams up there. It’s just to say he’s leaving teeth marks as a puppy. His four, often eye-opening catches for 92 yards in his first preseason game backed up a training camp of similar daily exploits.
Here’s the equal issue with Williams, the one where the caution signals flash as loudly as his talent: His success depends on more than football. That’s because every team knew of Williams’ good talent.
He should have gone somewhere around the middle of the second round and none drafted him, a scout said. Why? Williams was arrested in 2017 at Colorado
State on a misdemeanor assault charge after a domestic issue with his girlfriend.
Williams shoved her while she was moving from their off-campus apartment. The NFL investigated and decided not to invite Williams to the scouting combine. Teams investigated and decided a secondround talent wasn’t even worth a seventhround pick.
Williams said before the NFL draft and in Dolphins camp that the incident was out of character. Dolphins coach Brian Flores said, “I remember being 21, 22, 23 years old. I didn’t always make the best decisions.”
Flores says his job becomes to help Williams make better decisions. That, of course, is what every Dolphins coach has said through the years. Usually there’s a plan to help.
Every coach thinks they can save a player. That’s part of the job, too. Developing talent takes on various meanings. And who doesn’t believe in second chances? Who doesn’t believe in third or even fourth chances in some cases, too?
But the accompanying truth is there haven’t been a lot of redemption stories with the Dolphins through the years. For every Irving Fryar becoming a beacon of dignity, there’s three Lawrence Phillips, Cecil Collins and Richie Incognitos.
Change, you see, is a great theme of sports. Dorothy Shula, wife of the legendary Dolphins coach, used to regularly shuttle linebacker Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson from Dolphins practices to substance-abuse therapy in hopes of saving him.
“I’ll always be grateful to the Shula family,” Henderson told me long after football. “But I thought something was wrong with her taking me to sessions. ‘Why does she give a hell about me?’ But she did.”
Williams’ story is his own story, of course. And he’s still young. Still learning. He’s still hope in the summer sky for a while longer.
He’s also on this roster for the simple reason a lot of unknowns are here. There’s opportunity. Undrafted guard Shaq Calhoun looked down NFL rosters with his agent and saw the Dolphins needed guards. He’s now starting.
Canadian Football League refugee Sam Eguavoen scheduled his first tryout with the Dolphins and knew he wanted to sign after it. He’s now in a significant role.
Williams, too, saw opportunity at receiver. In his first game, he, “played tough, played physical,” Flores said. “He blocked in the run game.” He also played special teams on the kickoff return team. And he showed talent at receiver.
“One game doesn’t make him a superstar,” Flores said.
No one’s saying so. He’s left teeth marks. That’s all. Also, that Williams’ backstory says his future won’t be measured just by Sundays when everyone’s watching.
It also will be measured all those days no one is watching.