2019 NFL Draft: Trayveon Williams a must-have locker room presence
By Shelbie Warr
As one of the best backs that Texas A&M Football has ever seen, Trayveon Williams heads to the NFL Draft riding high. Where will he land?
Texas A&M’s offense was centered around running back Trayveon Williams in 2016 and in 2018. The 2017 offense was more or less a timeshare with graduate transfer Keith Ford from Oklahoma.
In 2016, Williams became the first true freshman in Texas A&M history to rush for over 1,000 yards with 1,057 yards on 156 carries. He scored eight rushing touchdowns that year. He also caught 19 passes for 91 yards and functioned as a kickoff return man in which he returned five for 82 yards.
His sophomore season was significantly less productive due to sharing the stage. He finished with 798 yards and eight touchdowns also catching 20 passes for 192 yards over the year. However, his junior season was his big-time breakout year. He finished with 1,760 yards rushing with 18 touchdowns. He also added one touchdown receiving.
With all of that, he became the program single-season rushing leader in his junior season. That was enough for him to make the decision to head to the NFL Draft and forego his senior season at Texas A&M.
Strengths
Williams is an effective pass blocker and that is something that has been advertised by him multiple times. He puts all of his efforts into protecting the quarterback on the plays in which he doesn’t get the ball. That focus and unselfishness what is going to get him in the NFL.
He put on some weight and in Jimbo Fisher’s offense was one of the biggest surprises in the SEC in 2018. He isn’t dynamic or honestly the right size by NFL standards, but he is good at eluding defenders and was able to get in his fair share of chunk runs.
His biggest strength though is his character. He has been raved about around Aggieland and for good reason. He is a leader through and through and that showed in 2017 and 2018 when he was an offensive captain. Those qualities could mean a lot to an NFL locker room trying to get back on the right track, which applies to quite a few teams right now.
Weaknesses
His top weakness is his size. He appears pretty small on tape and that is a big issue for a guy wanting to matchup against NFL defensive lineman. His Combine measurements came back at 5-foot-8 and 2016 pounds.
He also is very one speed throughout most plays, only hitting a second speed a handful of times in his career. That, coupled with the fact that he doesn’t seem to have the NFL drive necessary to really be a starting running back.
He will likely be pigeon-holed so to speak into a running back by committee approach where he will appear as a third down back in the league. He will also need to be more decisive in the NFL if he wants to even keep that kind of spot.
NFL Draft: Projected first round after Combine. dark. Next
Draft Expectations
Trayveon Williams will not be the guy to restart the Aggies first round streak. He likely won’t even get picked up on the first day. However, wherever he ends up, a team will be lucky to have his leadership abilities and his character in their locker room.