Mario Williams knows what it’s like to be at the bottom and work his way up to a job, and based on camp reports he could make it difficult for the L.A. Rams coaching staff when it’s time to chose the last receiver on the roster. The second-year undrafted free agent could make a push against the likes of Xavier Smith and Konata Mumpfield if he continues to stack days like the last one.
In camp observation from Saturday’s practice, team writers Stu Jackson and Zach Edwards highlighted Edwards as a surprising
standout:
Wide receiver Mario Williams makes some noise: After a quiet camp so far, Williams made a statement on Day 6. He had multiple receptions over the field, including a diving catch on a scramble drill from Bennett that brought applause from the crowd at LMU.
Will Williams be this year’s most unexpected player on the Rams’ 53-man roster?
Who is Mario Williams anyway?
A four-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting class, Williams chose to attend Oklahoma when he was the 15th-ranked receiver in the country. For context, that’s the same high school graduating class as Brian Thomas, Emeka Egbuka, Marvin Harrison, Malik Nabers, Xavier Worthy, and Keion Coleman.
Williams was ranked higher by 247 Sports than Harrison and Nabers.
After catching 35 passes for 381 yards when he was paired with Caleb Williams, Mario also followed head coach Lincoln Riley to USC in 2022 with the quarterback.
That first season for the Trojans was rather successful, including 40 catches for 631 yards and five touchdowns, helping Caleb Williams win the Heisman.
However, almost nothing went right for 8-5 USC in 2023.
Almost everybody’s production went down, including Mario Williams, finishing with just 29 catches for 305 yards and two touchdowns. With Caleb going to the NFL, and receivers like Makai Lemon and Zachariah Branch set to be the future at USC, Mario transferred again.
But this time, he was going to Tulane, and he would have to reclaim his status as a highly-touted receiver prospect once again.
Williams 2025 season
Tulane doesn’t have the same reputation or competition as USC or Oklahoma, but they could give Mario Williams a chance to be a WR1. SI’s Tulane blog highlighted some of his best traits:
Mario Williams immediately brings explosiveness to Tulane’s offense. On any given play, Williams can take a bubble screen to the house and is one of the most difficult players to catch in open space in college football.
Williams did not make it to USC because of his inability to catch the ball consistently. It is common for some of the most explosive receivers to struggle with this trait because they are such threats after the catch that they focus on their next move before securing the football. That is the case with Mario Williams.
So, what does that mean for his role in the offense next season? Honestly, it does not mean much. Williams is so talented that keeping him off the field is impossible. In addition to his explosiveness, he brings an unmatched, infectious level of energy to the offense. Some receivers, like Odell Beckham Jr., are so productive that teams are willing to live with the drops. That is the case with Mario Williams.
A year before Jon Sumrall helped the program reach the College Football Playoffs, the head coach focused his passing offense on Williams: 60 catches for 1,031 yards, 6 touchdowns.
That type of production didn’t help Williams get drafted, but it did rebuild him from an afterthought at USC to a player now going into his second year of Rams training camp.
Mario Williams on Rams
Without an invite to the combine, Williams was left to workout at the Tulane pro day, where speed was not his strong suit. He was only around a 4.50 despite being 5’9, 178. Sumrall, who is now the head coach at Florida, explained it’s never been about speed with Mario:
“Mario’s best trait is not speed, it’s not ball skills, it’s competitive nature. We would do our winter workouts last January and February and he had no problem on who he was matched up with that morning of the workout because we would pair guys up one on one all day. He would walk into the workout and let the guy know, you’re going to lose today because you’re matched up with me. I’m going to win.”
It’s that competitive nature that could catch the attention of Sean McVay.
The Rams only have two receivers who are 100-percent, undeniably locked onto the roster, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. And they were even open to trading one of those players earlier this year if it meant getting A.J. Brown.
Of course, C.J. Daniels and Jordan Whittington might be 90 or 95 or even 98-percent likely to make the roster. I’m just saying, only two are 100-percent and that’s because L.A. didn’t make any major moves for a receiver like they could have if they had drafted Lemon or anybody higher than the fifth round.
But if we assume that Nacua, Adams, Daniels, and Whittington are on the roster, that leaves at least one open spot. Maybe two. Potentially three.
Mumpfield and Smith are the two next in line. Then there’s Tyler Scott, Brennan Presley, Tru Edwards, and Williams.
Saturday was just one day of practice and the next standout could be Scott, Presley, or Edwards.
When it comes time for preseason action, these are also the receivers most likely to be out there playing. If Mario Williams (46 yards, 1 TD in 2025 preseason) has 100 yards in that first preseason game, maybe the Rams don’t use him the next time. Just as it could be true for anybody else who has a debut like that this year.
It was only two years ago that Williams was being pushed out of a job at USC, where he had followed his coach and quarterback, needing a new opportunity to prove himself. He did it then. With more practices like the last one, could he do it again?
