Buffalo Bills Draft RB Jonathan Williams In Fifth Round

On Saturday, the Buffalo Bills drafted Arkansas running back Jonathan Williams in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. The Bills love to carry players with the last name Williams on their roster. Jonathan becomes their fifth player with the last name Williams which also includes Aaron (S), Kyle (DT), Duke (S) and Karlos (RB).

Jonathan Williams did not play last season due to an injury he suffered in August of 2015 which required surgery on his foot. Drafting running backs with foot issues is always a scary proposition.

Proving this is the fact that despite Williams being considered one of the better running back prospects in the country at the end of the 2014 season, his position in the draft fell considerably because he missed a year with a foot injury.

According to Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com, “In 2014, Williams was productive, with 1190-yards and 12 touchdowns. He also caught 11 passes with two of them going for touchdowns.” Those numbers are despite splitting reps with Alex Collins who was considered the starter.

He’s very good a breaking tackles but he has ball security issues which he needs to work on. Running back was far from a position of need for the Bills so the pick can be considered a bit curious but Doug Whaley has made it clear on countless occasions that he believes in “a best player available” approach to the draft.

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Plus last year everyone thought Buffalo’s backfield was loaded and after injuries piled up all the sudden they were starting Mike Gillislee who did a great job but he was only signed to the team’s practice squad in November and brought up to play in December.

NFL.com hits the analysis of the pick right on the head when Mark Dulgerian points out “The draft slot does not match the talent here, but with his injury history, it makes sense. With exceptional feet, balance, power, and quickness Williams was among the best RBs in the SEC before sitting out 2015 with a foot injury. This could be a long-term steal if he stays healthy.”

So it looks like Whaley couldn’t ignore the talent on the board and even though this was not a position of need Whaley pulled the trigger on who he thought was the best player. This was probably the Bills weakest pick of the draft through the first five rounds but that’s not a knock on this pick but just due to the fact that their first four picks were all great value picks at positions of need.

For more on Jonathan Williams check out this scouting report on him from fellow FanSided site, NFL Mocks.com.

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