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Tank Williams
SELECTED BY OAKLAND , ROUND 2, PICK 13, OVERALL PICK 45
DB | (6-2, 223, 4.49) | Stanford
By Pro Football WeeklyNotes: High school quarterback-defensive back from Mississippi who also played basketball and ran track. Wanted to go to a Southeastern Conference school and was being recruited, but then he hurt his back. Playing with a bad back, had a very down senior year in high school, causing the SEC schools to back off, opening the door for Stanford. Played in the last 10 games of his true freshman season and ended the 1998 campaign with 24 tackles and two passes broken up. Started the first six games in '99 at free safety. Suffered a foot injury and had to miss the next three games. Came back late in the year but did not regain the starting job until the Rose Bowl. Started every game at free safety in 2000 and was a second-team All-Pacific-10 pick. All-Pac-10 safety in '01, when he also won All-America honors from the AFCAA. Had 45 stops, three passes broken up and one interception in 1999, 66-5-3 in 2000, and 68-8-5 in '01, when he also recovered two fumbles, returned one for a touchdown and got two sacks.Positives: Looks the part. Passes the eyeball test the second he walks into the room. Williams is as big as some linebackers and as fast as some corners. He has good range and covers a lot of ground with his long strides. At times, shows big-play ability and comes up big in the clutch. Can be very effective vs. the run and as a blitzer when he really is into the game.Negatives: Is not a sudden, quick-twitch athlete. Has some tightness in his upper body and hips. Struggles when he must flip his hips and go back on the ball. Hot-and-cold player who disapppears for stretches. At times, seems to really struggle to change directions and looks like a straight-line athlete. More stopwatch fast than quick. Is a better hitter than tackler who will have a hard time breaking down and making the open-field tackles at times. Does not always take good angles to the ball.Summary: An enigma. Will look like a top pick with plenty of talent on some plays and in some games and like an average player and ahtlete who is not really into the game on other plays and in other games. Nevertheless, with his workout numbers, he will be a first-day pick and could even be a late first-rounder.* Player biographies are provided by Pro Football Weekly.
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