A litany of character concerns surrounding former Syracuse receiver Mike Williams resulted in a first-round talent falling to the fourth round of last April’s NFL draft.
And teams that had those worries weren’t wasting any time on Williams.
According to the St. Petersburg Times, Syracuse coach Doug Marrone received phone calls on Williams from just three NFL teams before the draft. One of the three teams didn’t even return a voicemail from Marrone.
But the Bucs had “several conversations” with Marrone about Williams, especially regarding why he quit the Syracuse football team as a junior.
“You had to dig into his story of what occurred,” explained Tampa Bay G.M. Mark Dominik. “There were enough question marks in (Williams’) story that you said, ‘Okay, I need to dig more.’ ... But at the same point, here’s a guy you felt really loved playing football.”
If only two or three teams contacted Marrone, we’re betting at least 20 had Williams off their draft boards entirely.
Williams, except for one misstep that ultimately proved forgivable, kept his nose clean as a rookie. He was a finalist for several Offensive Rookie of the Year awards, catching 65 passes for 964 yards and a team-high 11 touchdowns.
If more teams had done as much digging as Dominik’s, it’s probably safe to assume Williams wouldn’t have lasted past the top-62 selections last April.
