Stanley Williams, University of Kentucky

Height: 5’ 7”
Weight: 190 lbs
Hands: 8 5/8”
Arm: 30”

40 yard dash: 4.51 (official)
NFL Comparison:  Dion Lewis, Chris Thompson

Pros

-quick, smooth acceleration

-high stepper

-patient

-good vision

-falls forward

Cons

-almost too patient

-not very elusive for a smaller back

-struggles in pass protection

Scouting Notes: Like an overly aggressive chihuahua, Stanley Williams thinks he’s much bigger than he actually is, at least when he’s got the ball in his hands. Yes, he’s fast and decisive when he gets going, but he doesn’t just squirt through gaps. Williams first exercises great patience in waiting for his blockers to open up holes in the line, relying on shrewd vision and a quick first cut to make defenses pay. He then leans forward and accelerates rapidly to gain steam before first contact, exploding past would be tacklers. It’s this patience followed by propulsion that’s earned him the nickname “Boom” and a 6.5 plus YPC over his career at Kentucky. His high carry average is more surprising when you consider the fact that Williams is not much of a tackle-breaker. He tends to see defenders ahead of time and angle his body away from contact, rather than shed it.

Williams vision is arguably his best asset, and he can use it in the return game too. He’s going to have to play that aspect of his game up to bolster his chances of seeing the field on the next level. He didn’t catch a ton of passes at Kentucky, 38 over his career, and he showed mediocre hands at the combine, so he doesn’t quite fit the role of the third down back right now. This is compounded by the fact that he struggles in pass protection, which any potential third down back is going to have to rectify to be of any real use. The aggression that’s so present when he’s bursting through his holes is nowhere to be found while he’s blocking. He gets pushed around quite a bit on the end.

And though Williams’ patience is his bread and butter, he can sometimes be overly reliant on it instead of using his instincts to create plays. He’s not elusive enough to break busted plays with regularity.

Fantasy Outlook: Very little interest in any format. There’s too much RB talent, and too little meat on his bones to make Williams a top tier back in the draft. He’s a tweener in the sense that he doesn’t seem to fit a role on an NFL offense as a lead back or pass-catching back. Maybe if he packs on some heft, he can make a difference on the first two downs, because he’s not ideal for use on third downs. He also had some disciplinary issues during his sophomore year, though it’s probably behind him.For these reasons, I would be surprised to see him drafted earlier than the 4th round or 5th round. Williams may see the most field time as a special teams player, which is a dubious distinction for fantasy purposes. I’m shying away from him outside of the deepest of dynasty leagues that offer return yards. Williams is a 5’7″, 190 pound RB who doesn’t even profile that well as a third-down option right off, which clearly isn’t optimal.