When you take a tour of the mock drafts popping up around the football world, former Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams is usually projected to be one of the first few names to be called in the first round.
Watching tape of Williams recording 26 tackles for loss and 10 sacks over his 24 games for the Crimson Tide makes it easy to understand why he’s getting that kind of recognition on his way into the NFL. It would also be easy to understand if he hoped to be the first player selected come April 25, but he said on SiriusXM NFL Radio that where he gets picked isn’t a big concern.
“It’s not really important to me to go No. 1,” Williams said. “I just really want to go. I’m just blessed to be in this draft class with these guys and meeting these top athletes and stuff like that. I’m just really not thinking about going No. 1, No. 2. I just want to be the best player that I can be for that team that I’m on and just create my craft.”
Workouts, interviews and the rest of the pre-draft dance will help teams make up their minds about their draft boards, but it’s hard to envision Williams slipping out of the first hour or so of the proceedings.