Following the selection of Antonio Williams in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, most of the analysis focused on whether the 5’11”, 187-pound Clemson Tiger could fill Washington’s need on the outside or Z position. Playing primarily in the slot for most of his college career, Adam Peters detailed how he believes Williams can win on both the inside and outside during his Day 2 presser. Debate amongst the media and fan base is ongoing, but there is more to playing wide receiver than just catching
the football. Today, we will look at three ways Antonio Williams fits David Blough’s proposed offense that may not have been at the forefront of his evaluation.
Run Blocking
Over the last two years, much has been made of how Kliff Kingsbury and the Commanders offense valued run-blocking ability in their wide receivers. A large part of the appeal around former Washington WR Noah Brown revolved around how the big-bodied wide receiver could provide plus blocking inside from the slot and on bubble screens. The smaller Williams is a departure from what we saw the team look for in their wide receivers, but that doesn’t mean Antonio can’t still be effective in the Commanders rushing attack.
The promotion of David Blough brings a philosophy shift in the running game. Kingsbury primarily uses gap concepts with a mix of inside zone, but under Washington’s rookie offensive coordinator, the Commanders offense is expected to utilize more outside zone. The demands on the wide receivers are different, prioritizing securing the outside edge, anticipating and walling off defenders down the field, and sealing defenders in the overhang position out of the slot. These are areas in which Williams excels.
Although PFF ranked him 41st out of 276 qualified Power Four wide receivers, there is plenty of film highlighting Williams’ blocking prowess. Clemson’s offense utilized a mixed approach last season with both gap and zone schemes and was not afraid to use Antonio in-line or on the boundary, so there are examples of his blocking at all three levels of the defense.
Although he doesn’t have the strength or power of a larger wide receiver, Williams wins with anticipation, technique, and tenacity. He isn’t afraid to take on linebackers or edges, and while Antonio will never drive players off the ball inside, he can do enough to wall off defenders and create running lanes for backs to quickly exploit. Getting the job done in the run game means Williams won’t have to come off the field on early downs, and Blough will be able to disguise his plays and utilize the rookie more.
Rushing
Along with the switch to a wide zone scheme, Blough is also expected to incorporate wide receivers into the ground game using jet sweeps and end-arounds. Blough’s stint in Detroit overlapped Amon-Ra St. Brown’s first season in the NFL when the rookie totaled 7 rushing attempts for 61 yards with an 8.7 yards per attempt average and one touchdown. In his second season, St. Brown totaled 9 attempts for 95 yards, including a 58-yard burst off a jet sweep versus Washington.
Williams is ready for these play calls as well. In his four years at Clemson, Antonio recorded 25 rushing attempts. While the volume isn’t impressive, the production was similar to Brown’s, and Williams finished his college career averaging 7.5 yards per attempt with 2 touchdowns, including this 5-yard touchdown on a jet sweep.
Williams’ other touchdown run was a 36-yard scamper versus Virginia. His vision and elusiveness in the open field are apparent and earned him a nod in his NFL.com draft profile, with Lance Zierlein citing “Running back’s vision and cut quickness with ball in his hands.” I don’t expect Blough to utilize Williams in this role often, but when he does, I think the rookie will be effective.
Trick Plays
Wherever David Blough has gone in the NFL, the trick plays have followed. Blough has a receiving touchdown on his pro resume courtesy of a pass thrown by Danny Amendola off a flea flicker. In fact, the Lions have a few plays utilizing flea-flickers, reverses, and halfback passes that they trace back to David Blough, but one of the most famous is simply called “Boilermaker,” a nod to Blough and Purdue coach Jeff Brohm.
During his time at Purdue, Jeff Brohm utilized multiple trick plays with David Blough at the helm, and clearly the Commanders new offensive coordinator was impressed with them. In addition to the Lions, the Cardinals also called a toss-throwback to create a 77-yard TD pass from David Blough to A.J. Green in 2023. When Blough arrived in Washington, the trick plays started to pop up again in the form of a flea-flicker screen to Austin Ekeler.
The media was quick to praise Kliff Kingsbury for his creativity, but to his credit, Kingsbury was equally quick to reference his inspiration in a pre-practice press conference.
Yeah, I gotta cite my sources as always,” Kingsbury said. “It’s a [Louisville head coach] Jeff Brohm play. He did it at Purdue, and obviously, we have [Assistant QB Coach] David Blough, who played for Jeff Brohm. So, David Blough had brought that one up and we ended up, they threw it to a tight end. We ended up sneaking [RB] Austin [Ekeler] back there and it ended up working out. The guys executed it perfectly because they brought a pressure, which even made it better. But yeah, that’s, shout out Jeff Brohm for that one.”
Now that Blough has been promoted to offensive coordinator, it is a safe bet that the number of trick plays will increase. The other bet with good odds is that Antonio Williams will be involved in more than a few of them. Former Clemson offensive coordinator Garret Riley is known for utilizing trick plays and Antonio Williams played a key role in several of them.
During his four-year college career, Antonio Williams attempted 4 passes and completed all them for 143 yds and a 2 touchdowns including a 75-yarder against North Carolina.
Blough will assuredly get multiple players involved in the fun, but Williams’ threat with the ball in his hands will entice the defense to commit early and open up the field for chunk plays downfield. Along with arm strength, Antonio has also shown good decision-making and touch on his throws. I would expect to see at least one pass attempt from No. 14 this season.
Bottom Line
It has become commonplace to discuss how Daronte Jones will use a positionless defense on the other side of the ball to disguise looks and create mismatches, but Commanders fans need to start applying the same idea to offense. Ben Johnson’s offense thrives on highly versatile wide receivers who can seamlessly rotate between the inside and the outside, execute run blocks, and operate in the backfield. David Blough is expected to utilize his pass-catching corps in the same manner, shuffling receivers and tight ends into different formations and groupings to keep the defense off balance.
A portion of Commanders fans might not be happy Adam Peters didn’t select a prototypical field-stretching threat like Chris Brazzell II or Ted Hurst in the top of the third round, but the early returns on Williams in OTAs make him look like a good fit for Blough’s proposed offense. The ability to run-block, rush out of the backfield, and contribute to trick plays will only increase his value for a team that needs all the playmakers it can provide for their franchise quarterback.
