Chiefs UDFA’s Who Can Have an Impact: RB Darrel Williams

By now, anyone following he Kansas City Chiefs in the offseason has heard about RB Darrel Williams, the undrafted free agent the Chiefs have signed, “serving notice.” In some circles, bringing your own mother into the conversation means, “fighting words.”

Never before have the Chiefs had so many running backs in camp that they absolutely needed a training camp just to sort through all the possible combinations. Kareem Hunt is a given. Spencer Ware appears to be headed for the IR while continuing his rehab. FA Damien Williams was signed after four back-up years in Miami. FA Kerwynn Williams was signed after serving as a back-up in Arizona. Charcandrick West is still here, so is Akeem Hunt and UDFA J.D. was signed as well. C.J. Spiller is… gone.

What the Chiefs will have to determine with Darrel Williams is whether or not he’s a legitimate threat… or… the Matt Cassel of running backs (Cassel played back-up to Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart while at USC then became a mediocre starting QB in the league… while Darrel Williams has played back-up to Leonard Fournette and Derrius Guice at LSU, and we’re hoping for much more from him). 

In Darrel Williams’ first 3 seasons at LSU, he rushed for 831 yards on 166 carries for a 5.0 yards per carry average. In his senior season he ran for 776 yards on 136 carries for a 5.7 yards per carry average. One note here, Williams was used on many goal line stands so his yards per carry average may be skewed a bit lower than what he was capable of if he had been utilized throughout a game. That’s called, giving him the benefit of the doubt… so far. Also coming in his senior season were 22 receptions for 337 yards for a 14.9 yards per reception average: perhaps an important reason the Chiefs wanted a second look. 1,113 yards from scrimmage, even for a back-up, is nothing to sneeze at. 

Some context here: with LSU leading later in the game, after RB Derrius Guice had already complied 276 yards on the ground, Darrel Williams does clean up duty but gains 103 yards of his own in this game. The tape of this game shows mostly LSU plays featuring Guice and the INTs but the defense… which included one solitary play made by Darrel Williams.

Looking through “highlight reels” can be futile when you’re trying to get the full measure of a prospect. On this play, Darrel Williams is in the game early, and earlier in the season.

I like to think of the SEC (Southeastern Conference) as the untethered minor league system of the NFL. So, naturally, when there’s tape to watch on a prospect in the SEC, and especially vs. Alabama, then I value that tape a little more than maybe I should. However, here’s Darrel Williams this year vs. the Crimson Tide up 14-3 and LSU stuck on their own 11-yard line, Darrel Williams can’t find a hole inside, so he breaks it outside for a 12-yard gain with Rashaan Evans in on the tackle (the Titans first selection and the 22nd pick in the draft).

A short time later Darrel Williams was handed the keys to the car and took his first shot in this game at running the Wildcat for LSU. They had run several sweeps with WR Russell Gage running it wide but with not much success. Here, Williams fakes to Gage and pushes it up through the heart of the Alabama defense taking Rashaan Evans right along with him. 

Williams not only stays on his feet in that play but shows good power and with the help of his linemen stretch a 4-yard gain into seven. The next time Darrel Williams runs the Wildcat in this game, the result are much different. With 2:20 left in the 3rd quarter and down 21-3, Darrel Williams fakes an end-around again to WR Russell Gage, then runs straight up behind his line, side-steps to his left, and is off like a sling-shot towards the end zone (if you don’t know what a “sling-shot” is please ask your grandpa)… for a 54-yard gain, all the way down to the 2-yard line.

Two plays later, they hand the ball off to Williams and he finishes the job. If he sticks with the Chiefs you can expect to see him used in goal line packages where he follows Anthony Sherman into the endzone.

While I’m finding enough to make me feel encouraged about his signing, I have also come across what might be his Kryptonite: pass protection. Here’s a play he was likely taken out of the game for:

You might say you can forgive him a little because that was Minkah Fitzpatrick who just tore up his draft ticket to the NFL. The question is, can his recover from that? This is from later in the same game:

When you’re a starter and miss an assignment, you can lose your job. If you’re a back-up and miss an assignment, you might never get another chance. It shows the confidence the LSU coaches must have had in Darrel Williams to send him back in to pass protect after he’d failed the first time. Especially against Alabama.

The more I watch RB Darrel Williams, the more I think he reminds me of Jamaal Charles. Not his speed. Charles was as fast as you’ll ever find a RB to be so… it’s not that. It’s the way JC would make one-cut-and-go. Darrel Williams can accelerate with the best of them and although his top end speed will not win him any track medals, he has enough gas in the tank to do damage when he sees a hole. He’s not elusive but can hand out punishment as well as take it. You’ll never hear anyone question his ability to hit and be hit. In fact, Williams appears to thrive on it. He’s not going to break as many tackles as Kareem Hunt… but then again… who does? Since LSU appeared to use him in goal line situations, it’s easy to project that kind scenario with the Chiefs. It goes a long way towards “saving” your main RB for middle-of-the-field duty. I can see the need with Spencer Ware out. If Ware was going to be active, I could see him getting the bulk of goal line duty. Since he’s not ready, Darrel Williams just might be the ticket.

You can’t help but look for reasons why a particular player wasn’t drafted. With Darrel Williams it may have been his 4.72 40-yard dash time. I’ve mentioned Williams’ ability to make cuts but making cuts while maintaining speed is what counts in the game of football. Consequently, teams may have been ignoring his 20-yard shuttle time of 4.21. Historically, 4.22 has been the average 20-yard shuttle time for RBs but considering Williams slow 40 time, a 4.21 in the shuttle is very good. When it comes right down to it, it means, he has the ability to move quickly while cutting or, turning corners. The fact that he’s a more physical player in combination with that, possibly could make him a more valued running prospect. Once again, it will take training camp to sort out the wheat from the chaff (btw… the “chaff” is the husk around the seed, the part of the grain that is usually thrown away. If you still don’t get it… drive out to the countryside, go to a grain silo and ask the local grain farmer what it means. If they run you out of town with a shotgun because you still don’t get it… I won’t blame them if they do. Or, you could just go ask wikipedia).

While I can see Darrel Williams developing into a solid back-up RB, it’s still hard for me to see him becoming a starter. I’m not saying it’s not possible because you can never measure the heart or determination of a person, and he seems to have that kind of… spunk and spit, in spades. With his teammates naming him the LSU MVP for 2017, it says something about his leadership ability — or maybe likability — especially when you consider that Derrius Guice was on the same team. Darrel Williams is certainly the kind of guy I’ll be pulling for.

On to training camp, where all will be revealed.

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