2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Isaiah Williams, WR, Illinois

Isaiah Williams is a dynamic playmaker on offense for Illinois. He has exceptional speed and vision which help him gain a lo of YAC. Hula Bowl scout Ian McNice breaks down Williams as an NFL Prospect in his report.

Player Data

Name, Jersey #	Isaiah Williams #1
School (Code)	ILUN
DOB, Class Yr	5th year rJr
Height, Weight	5096, 180 lbs
40 Yd Dash	4.48e
Position/Depth	1st/Slot
Honors/Captainship	2022 Team Captain, 2x Academic All Big-10, Big-10 Honorable Mention (2022), Preseason 1st team All Big-10 (Athlon, PFF, Phil Steele), 2023 Maxwell and Wuerffel Award watch list
Season Viewed (yr)	2022
Games Watched	INPU, INUN, WYUN, NEUN
Scout Name / Date	Ian McNice 08/12/23

Per Year Stats (Most Recent First)

2022	13 GP at WR. 82 REC, 104 TGT, 715 yds, 8.7 Y/R, 5 TD. 16 Punt returns, 120 yds, 7.5 AVG
2021	12 GP at WR. 47 REC, 74 TGT, 525 yds, 11.2 Y/R, 4 TD, 12 ATT, 61 yds, 5.1 Y/A, 2 TD
2020	5 GP, 4 GS at QB. Logged snaps at QB (193) and WR (9). 41.3% Cmp, 6.2 Y/A, 393 yds, 4 TD, 2 INT, 63 ATT, 389 yds, 1 TD
2019	Appeared in 4 games logging 24 snaps at QB, 6 at WR. 30% Cmp, 3.8 Y/A, 38 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT 3 REC, 3 TGT, 9 ATT, 16 yds

Player Summary:

Redshirt Junior from St. Louis, Missouri. 2019 4-star dual-threat QB who also played basketball and ran track and field in high school. Marginal height, weight, and arm length with very good AA. He has elite COD, very good acceleration, foot speed, balance, and good lateral quickness. Solid free release, he has efficient footwork accelerating quickly to lessen the opposition’s cushion. Have not seen him vs press due to him having superior play speed than the majority of his matchups. Good separation quickness, and he shows a good understanding of DB’s leverage exploiting them with misdirection and elite COD at the stem of posts, corners, slants, In/Out’s. He creates separation on comebacks and pivot/whip’s by sinking his hips to change direction swiftly, using above-average acceleration out of his break. Very good understanding of zone coverages, often working towards soft spots and sitting in them or splitting the seam between over the top defenders with very good acceleration. Elite YAC ability, he transitions from receiver to runner efficiently and does not need a lot of space to create big plays. He has very good vision and feel for his blockers in the screen game, as well as jet, sweeps getting north and south quickly without losing any burst. Primarily uses elite COD juking defenders, he also displays very good balance breaking high and low tackles with consistency. He has shown good concentration by making contested catches despite not extending his arms to receive the ball often. Marginal hands and tracking, he looks upfield well before securing the ball often leading to drops. He is marginal at tracking on deep ball’s as well, even with good throws he struggles to get his hands in a spot where he could make the catch. He understands where his body position needs to be, but is lacking the physical tools to impact the running game positively as a run blocker.

Scheme Fit:

Slot in RPO heavy system

Power Statement:

Williams is elite after the catch and in space. His elite elusiveness and good vision make him a weapon in short/intermediate passing plays while also displaying the tools to impact the running game as a ball carrier. Improving his ball skills could increase the offense’s productivity as he could be a bigger threat vertically.