Rookie Profile: Garrett Williams Can be Steal of Cardinals' Draft

Garrett Williams is recovering from an ACL but finds himself next up on our breakdown of the Arizona Cardinals' 2023 NFL Draft class.

Author:
Richie Bradshaw
Publish date:
May 24, 2023 1:06 PM EDT

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Arizona Cardinals

There were some good values available in the 2023 NFL Draft and the Arizona Cardinals got one of the better ones when Syracuse cornerback Garrett Williams found himself available with the 72nd overall pick. Naturally, the Cardinals scooped him up quickly.

Williams is a top dog at the cornerback position with that alpha dog mentality you look for at the position. The caveat and subsequent reason for why he slipped to mid-day-two was that Williams is recovering from an ACL injury in late October. This timetable makes it difficult to gauge when he will be available again.

Thankfully for the Cardinals, they are one of the few teams in the league who don't need a definitive timetable.

With that being said, we are here to continue our series of breaking down the Cardinals' 2023 rookie class with Williams next on deck. Let's take a look and get to know the highly thought of third-round draft pick.

Accomplishments

Three-star prospect and considered one of the state of North Carolina's top prospects
Freshman All-American (The Athletic)
One-time All-ACC Team (2021)
Two-time All-ACC honorable mention (2020, 2022)
Led ACC in pass deflections in 2020 and 2021
First career collegiate interception was on Trevor Lawrence (returned for a touchdown)

2023 NFL Draft profile

Three-year starter
Plus ball skills
Great cover abilities
Recovering from ACL injury suffered in late October

What the tape shows

The first thing that jumps off the tape when watching Williams is his plus ball skills. When the ball was up in the air it more often than not felt like #8 for the Orange was going to be close by. And if he was, you knew he was going to make a play on the ball. This is what makes a defensive back worth having.

Now while this is great to hear, there is still some room for improvement. Williams is limited by his long speed and at the next level this could bite him if he doesn't continue to refine his craft as a cover man. There's also a need to be more physical at the catch point and cut down on the contested catches he allows.

Projected role for 2023

The Cardinals will be hoping to get Williams back on the field sooner rather than later when looking at this cornerback room. There is next to no depth and I think my phone is ringing right now to see if I can try out for the unit...

Williams would likely have been a higher draft pick had he not been injured, and while that isn't to paint him as some elite player it speaks to the value the Cardinals got for him and to illustrate that there can be some expectations for him so long as he can play.

The best news for Williams is that the Cardinals won't be competing in 2023 and can thus allow him to take his time in his recovery to make sure he is at 100% by the time he takes the field. ACL injuries are different for every individual though, and Williams could be good to go for week one or he could miss the entirety of 2023... Thus, coming up with true expectations for Williams feels impossible at this current point in time.