John Williams, Cincinnati: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
Williams was a three-star recruit from Bolingbrook High School in Bolingbrook, Ill. in the class of 2020
Cincinnati Bearcats left tackle John Williams is an underrated prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft. He’ll likely kick inside to guard if he wants to eventually start at the next level, but he also offers value as a swing tackle.
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John Williams, LT Cincinnati: 2025 NFL Draft Profile
Classification: Redshirt senior left tackle from Bolingbrook, Ill.
Background: Williams was a three-star recruit from Bolingbrook High School in Bolingbrook, Ill. in the class of 2020. He was the No. 1,646 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 1,605 for On3.com. Williams was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 72 grade out of 100.
Injuries & Off-Field: Missed 2022 Indiana game
Awards: N/A
Pros: Experience playing left tackle and minimal right tackle experience, not penalized often, thick upper frame, maintains a wide base in pass pro, stout anchor, rushers struggle to play through his frame, pass pro brick wall, jump sets packs a wallop, nice speed in kick slide, alters kick slide tempo to match rusher’s speed and alignment, gains necessary depth to take away wide-alignment edge rushers, keeps the B-gap shut or redirects to close it, nice on-the-fly adjustments to stay attached, drive rushers up and around the arc, punches knock back and stall rushers, powerful arm extensions when fitted properly, recognizes and picks off B-gap blitzers, identifies and passes off stunts, initial burst to establish reach blocks, throws people around on down blocks
Cons: Hip stiffness limits some of his movement, pad level rises quickly, range is good but not great in pass pro, footspeed falls short of elite, vulnerable up the arc to elite explosive rushers, doesn’t maximize arm length consistently, allows defenders into his frame too often, late to deploy hands, hands swatted and removed frequently, hands get chopped and swiped often, sometimes overshoots run blocks when kicking outside, poor angles to blocks in space, struggles to mirror second level defenders in space
Overview: Williams has experience playing left tackle and some training for right tackle. He boasts a thick upper frame that’s complemented by quality arm length and a stout anchor. Pass rushers struggle to play through Williams’ frame because of his wide base and anchor. Linemen infrequently generate the power on a bull rush to defeat Williams and apply pressure. The redshirt senior left tackle takes the attack to the defender with the occasional jump set. His kick slide reaches a good speed, but his use of tempo to match the rusher’s speed and adjust is one of his more impressive technical developments. Williams’ kick step isn’t very explosive compared to the top athletes at offensive tackle, but it gains adequate depth to eliminate wide-alignment rushers. Williams quickly redirects to close the B-gap against counters, blitzes, and stunts. His protection of the B-gap is among the best in the 2025 class. He drives rushers up and around the pocket but runs into some trouble against speed rushers. Williams’ range in pass protection is good but not great, and his footspeed is average. This makes him vulnerable to explosive rushers and speedsters who get vertical in a hurry. The former three-star recruit deals with some hip stiffness that limits his suddenness and range of motion. This, combined with his average footspeed and good but not great arm length, might make him a better long-term fit at guard. He’ll need to be more mindful of his pad level if he kicks inside. Williams delivers powerful blows that knock rushers off their paths and force their rush plans to stall. Unfortunately, he fails to maximize his arm length on a down-to-down basis. He allows defenders into his frame too often because he deploys his hands late or they get easily swiped away by the defender. Williams’ extensions kill the pass rusher’s attack when he properly fits his hands on their pads. He has the initial burst to establish positioning for reach blocks and applies the force to wash away defenders on down blocks. Williams doesn’t generate eye-catching displacement when working vertically against a down lineman. He takes poor angles to second level defenders and occasionally overshoots his targets in the run game.
Overall, Williams needs to refine his hand usage but possesses many of the physical traits and technical skills to secure a top 120 selection in the draft. Some teams might feel more comfortable with him at guard because of concerns when he matches up against explosive edge rushers isolated on an island, but Williams deserves the chance to stick at tackle.
Role & Scheme Fit: Left guard or swing tackle in an inside zone scheme
Round Grade: Fourth Round
Size: 6'5", 320 lbs. (Unofficial)
Submitted: 10-07-24
Updated: 11-19-24