NFL Draft Prospects 2019: Cornerback - Greedy Williams, LSU

Andraez “Greedy” Williams got his nickname from his grandmother as a kid and opposing quarterbacks think alike when they see him go after the ball. Arriving in Baton Rouge as a four-star recruit, the all-state corner redshirted his first year and when a spot opened due to a suspended corner, Williams never looked back, starting every game over these two years for the Tigers. He was an All-SEC selection after leading the conference with six interceptions in 2017 and repeated that feat with less impressive statistics last year, when teams decided not to throw the ball his way anymore, which still earned him second-team All-American honors.

The All-American shutdown corner has elite size at 6’2’’ and speed with a 4.37 at the combine. Greedy plays with a serious swagger and trusts his physical tools. He primarily was in press-man for the Tigers, where he showed patience off the line to not fall for any stutters or quick head-fakes. He is elite when it comes to turning his hips and accelerating to full speed, which enables him not to so prematurely. He likes to be hands-on in coverage and used a ton of stack technique to slow receivers down.

Then he has the length and flexibility to make a play on the ball on back-shoulder fades at the last moment from the inside position. He attacks through the hands of the receiver and denies several catches that way. While he can get lost when doing so on a few occasions, Greedy has a unique gift of being able to play the receiver and turn his head around at the last second to locate the ball, which helps him avoid penalties.

While he is a press-corner by trait, Greedy is also pretty good in off-coverage and zone, where he does a good job sinking and keeping his eyes on the quarterback. He is sneaky with slight grabs of the opposing jersey, can get pretty physical for such a lanky corner and doesn’t back down from anybody. He really got into it with Ole Miss’ D.K. Metcalf last season, who caught only three passes for 39 yards and was even called for a push-off later on in that game.

In the 2017 Citrus Bowl, Notre Dame barely targeted him, but once they got “greedy”, he punished them with an INT. He was rushed off the edge quite a bit by the Tigers. Greedy is a tremendous talent and constantly talks to his opponents. In 2017 he allowed the second-lowest passer rating at 22.9 and that led offenses to stop throwing it his way last season.

He tackles receivers coming across the field into his area, but Williams is not the type of guy who will jump on piles. He sets soft edges and isn’t too concerned with the run game in general. Overall he will lunge into some tackles and rarely uses his arms to actually wrap up. Williams’ style of play down the field is way too hands-on for the NFL, so he will need a phase to adjust. He seemed a little frustrated when they faced Alabama in 2017 and he saw Calvin Ridley catch a bunch of passes on his side, but they were playing cover-three.

Greedy doesn’t use his hands accordingly yet in press and won’t really disrupt receivers off the snap. As impressive as he was through his first one-and-a-half years, that second half of the 2018 season was really disappointing, not showing a lot of fight and playing pretty soft.

Williams has the premier skill-set to dominate at the next level in him, but I could see guys like DeAndre Hopkins or Mike Evans just bully him with that slender build and I don’t think he is ready for the physicality of those guys. Over his two-year career with the Tigers, Greedy has put up a passer rating of 43.0 when targeted. I guess he will be the first corner drafted because of his talent, but it depends on his willingness to be one of the best if he will pay off that pick.

Grade: Mid-first