Damian Williams: Future New England Patriot WR?

With the questions surrounding the Patriots WR corps (Wes Welker’s ACL, Randy Moss’ heart); the feeling isn’t if the Patriots will take a WR in the draft but rather who they will take. Due to trades, New England now has four picks in the top of 50 of this year’s draft. You can almost be certain that one of those picks will be a WR.

One player that New England could possibly focus in on with one of their middle second picks is Damian Williams of USC, who should still be available at that point in the draft.

Williams does not get the publicity of a Dez Bryant or a Golden Tate, but if you put him in the right offense, like the Patriots, he might be every bit as good. There is certainly no questioning his skills and production.

Damian is not going to wow you with his highlight reel or his off the chart workout numbers. Instead, he will beat you with his precise route running, his smarts, and his consistency. Those are three traits that are heavily valued by Bill Belichick and the Patriot organization.

What’s even more valuable is Damian Williams’ personality and character. You will never have to worry about him taking plays and even whole games off ala Randy Moss. You will never have to worry about him affecting team chemistry in the locker room in a negative manner.

In a day and age of brash WRs who are more focused on style rather than substance, Damian Williams is the exception. Williams is focused on one thing as a football player, getting better every day.

When you hear Williams speak in interviews you here an intelligent, soft spoken young man who preaches about constantly refining his game. You hear the talk of working on his routes, becoming stronger, getting faster and things of that nature. It’s refreshing.

His game isn’t half bad either. In his junior season he had over a 1,000 yards receiving with a true freshman QB at the helm. That's not too shabby.

Damian showed his versatility by returning punts (versatility is another trait valued heavily in the Pats organization). Plus he showed his ability to be very successful in the screen game which has been utilized often in New England’s offense in recent years.

So yes, Damian Williams to the Patriots would seem to have some merit as a quality idea.

Getting burned by Chad Jackson a few years ago may make Bill Belichick a little hesitant about scooping up a WR early. However, it is a strong necessity given the concerns with the state of his current WRs.

The Patriots are always one of the more interesting teams to watch during the draft. The organization has a strong foundation based on quality evaluations of talent and value. It starts at the top with Bill Belichick and trickles down from there.

The Pats have always played the draft well and let the pieces fall in their favor. Now that they’ve come back to Earth a bit as of late, it should be fun to watch what they do to try and get back to dominance. Damian Williams might just be a quality addition in that quest.