Inside Linebacker
D.J. Williams
College: Miami
Year: Senior
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 249
Birthday: July 20, 1982
Strengths: D.J. Williams came to Miami from California’s powerhouse De La Salle High School after being named USA Today’s Defensive Player of the Year, then Hurricanes Head Coach Butch Davis played him at fullback as a true freshman. Why put such a promising defensive talent at fullback? Williams scored 42 touchdowns as a high school senior, so he has some talent for offense, too. He moved to weakside linebacker as a sophomore and has stayed there ever since. Williams projects to inside linebacker in a 3-4 defense.
With his physical tools, Williams should turn some heads at the combine and in other pre-draft workouts. He has a thick, muscular build and is strong enough to take on blockers, yet also has the speed to fly to the football as his tackle stats show.
Williams looked like he was beginning to put it all together as a linebacker against Pittsburgh last year, when he made 16 tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss, and forced a fumble in the Hurricanes’ 28-21 win.
Areas of Concern: Williams is a work in progress. He is still a better athlete than a linebacker, although he has become much better at reading his keys. If he continues to improve, he could be an impact player, but he’s not there yet. Another year of experience on defense should help him a great deal.
How Would He Look in Steel Blue? A powerful, athletic linebacker like Williams would thrive in the Texans’ defense, since he would have the opportunity to showcase his skills in every phase of the game – stuffing the run, blitzing, and dropping into coverage. All he needs is time to continue to learn the position. A standout athlete with Williams’ potential will probably be off the board before the point in the draft that the Texans would consider taking an inside linebacker.
(profile written by Warren DeLuca
)
D.J. Williams’ 2002 Stats G TCK TFL SACK FF FR INT 13 108 16 4.0 2 0 0
D.J. Williams 
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