Garrett Williams, CB Syracuse: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Williams was a three-star recruit from Hickory Ridge High School in Harrisburg, N.C. in the class of 2019

Syracuse cornerback Garrett Williams missed a chunk of this past season with a torn ACL, which led to him being an under-discussed prospect. Williams could sneak into the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

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Garrett Williams, CB Syracuse: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Fourth year redshirt sophomore outside corner from Harrisburg, N.C.

Background: Williams was a three-star recruit from Hickory Ridge High School in Harrisburg, N.C. in the class of 2019. He was the No. 1,766 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 1,674 for On3.com. Williams was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 74 grade out of 100. As a high school junior, he amassed 68 tackles, three interceptions, and 18 passes defensed. Williams also added 639 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns as Hickory Ridge went 11-3 during his junior season and reached the third round of the 2017 NCHSAA 4A playoffs. He made the 2017 Charlotte Observer All-Region First-Team and was a 2018 Southwestern 4A All-Conference selection. Williams served as a team captain. He was also a sprinter on the track team. Williams was born on June 1, 2001 in Charlotte, N.C.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed six games in 2022 with a torn ACL

Awards: 2020 Honorable Mention All-ACC, 2020 Freshman All-American (The Athletic), 2021 Honorable Mention All-ACC, 2022 Honorable Mention All-ACC

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, more than half a dozen career special teams tackles, rarely penalized, experience in true press, soft-shoe press, off-man, and zone coverages, arm length meets thresholds, sits low in his backpedal, patiently waits on the release to develop, nice speed in his half-turn, doesn’t bite on double moves, compresses outside releases along the sideline, reads the quarterback’s eyes, agility to mirror and match receivers in the short and intermediate areas of the field, sticky corner with nice footwork, good spatial and assignment awareness in zone, remains calm when offense threatens to flood his zone, quick to read and close on short throws and screens, aggressive downhill tackler on screens, willing contributor against the run, nice tackler who drives through the ball carrier

Cons: Arm length is good but not great, lacks great deep speed, recovery speed is average at best, speedsters will blow by him on off-man, sometimes takes too long to recognize a vertical route and open his hips to carry the receiver, overcommits and allows receivers to cross his face, allows separation on sharp inbreaking routes, allows a little too much cushion in off-man and short zone, moved by quarterback eye manipulation, short threats will pull him away from intermediate threats behind him in zone, lacks closing burst to contest the catch, late getting his head around for the ball, needs to be more aggressive at the catch point, moved off the ball by larger blocking receivers, takes steep angles in run support, needs to be more balanced going into tackle attempts

Overview: Williams took official measurements at the NFL Combine. He’s 5100 and weighs 192 lbs. He has 9 2/8-inch hands, 31-inch arms, and a 74 4/8-inch wingspan. Williams was a team captain for Syracuse in 2022 but missed a large chunk of the year with a torn ACL. He spent a lot of time along the boundary but also played to the field side of the defense. Williams amassed more than half a dozen career special teams tackles while playing on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units. The former three-star recruit was rarely penalized in college. He has experience in true press, soft-shoe press, off-man, and zone coverages. Williams lacks the great size and arm length many other members of this cornerback class possess, but he is a smooth athlete with a low backpedal. He patiently waits on the release to develop before getting in phase. Williams maintains nice speed in his half-turn and doesn’t bite on double moves. He compresses outside releases along the sideline. The fourth-year redshirt sophomore is at his best with his eyes in the backfield and the action unfolding in front of him. He reads the quarterback’s eyes and has good spatial and assignment awareness in zone. Williams’ agility helps him mirror and match receivers in the short and intermediate areas of the field. He’s a sticky cover corner with nice footwork. Williams remains calm when offenses threaten to flood his zone. He’s quick to read and close on short throws and screens and is an aggressive downhill tackler. The North Carolina native is a willing contributor against the run and a nice tackler who drives through the ball carrier. Unfortunately, he lacks ideal deep speed and only has average recovery speed. Williams struggles when his back is to the quarterback. Speedsters blow by him in off-man coverage. The corner sometimes takes too long to recognize a vertical route and is late to open his hips to carry the receiver. Williams allows separation on sharp inbreaking routes and gives too much cushion in off-man and short zone. He falls for quarterback eye manipulation occasionally. Williams lacks the closing burst to contest the catch and is late getting his head around for the ball. He needs to be more aggressive at the catch point. Williams struggles to locate and play the ball when his back is turned to the quarterback. He needs to take better angles downhill and come to balance before going for tackle attempts.

Overall, Williams lacks outstanding physical traits, but he’s a smooth athlete with terrific route recognition and instincts when the action takes place in front of him. The Syracuse product has been forgotten about in this draft because of his torn ACL and the deep corner pool, but he has a chance to go in the second round. 

Role & Scheme Fit: Boundary or field corner in a zone-heavy scheme

Round Projection: Mid Second to Early Third

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 04-16-23