Editor’s note: Everyone’s excited about the Commanders’ NFL Draft haul. Rightfully so. That doesn’t mean each selection will slot into a prominent role as a rookie. We’ll discuss realistic expectations for each player over the next few days, leading into Commanders rookie minicamp. In this installment, we evaluate the Clemson receiver getting a lot of love from the fan base:
WR Antonio Williams , Clemson
Selection: No. 71 overall
Height/Weight: 5-foot-11.5/187 pounds
What Adam Peters said: “I’d describe him as just a great athlete.
Great athlete, really fast and he’s fast in a lot of different ways. He’s fast at the 40 time. The GPS is really, really high on him. End game. And then the old scout’s eye, you see him, he plays fast and he plays at a high level. He’s an NFL route runner. He can win versus press. He can beat man coverage. We really like the versatility of him as well. He can play inside. He played a lot inside this year. He played outside last year, and that’s really the thing that differentiated him from a lot of guys is winning outside and winning against really good players outside, especially in 2024. So, NFL route runner there’s just a lot of really, really good things about him and just an all-around great package.”
What Antonio Williams said: “I’m just a smooth operator out there on the field, whether that’s running a route, making somebody miss, making an acrobatic catch. I just play real smooth out there and just have a lot of confidence in myself and what I can do.”
Prominent members of the position group*: Terry McLaurin, Luke McCaffrey, Treylon Burks, Dynami Brown, Jaylin Lane
*Note: Taken from Mark Tyler’s way-too-early 53-man depth chart
Perfect-world expectations: Williams follows Terry McLaurin’s footsteps as a third-round pick who bursts onto the scene as a true instant-impact rookie.
The Clemson product could prove capable of besting NFL coverage on a regular basis and find himself heavily involved in the offense both from the slot and outside. He’ll need to be a quick study learning a new offense to earn that role, which is possible considering Peters has lauded Williams’ football IQ. If he can process fast and play fast, Williams should be a force.
Building trust with quarterback Jayden Daniels during training camp could lead to a high target count and a solidified role as the No. 2 receiver behind McLaurin, especially if Washington doesn’t add Brandon Aiyuk or Jauan Jennings to the position group.
That would add long-term stability to the receiver corps, something Washington desperately needs.
Real-world expectations: Playing receiver in the NFL is hard. Going from college to the pros is one of the toughest transitions of any non-quarterback position. Knowledge, precision and physical skills must combine to beat NFL coverage, and that doesn’t always come together right away. That’s often true for first-round picks and regularly the case for those taken later.
That’s what makes McLaurin’s rookie season rare. We therefore shouldn’t hold those expectations over Williams. It’s fair to expect him to provide production in the slot, even if that comes a few weeks into the regular season. As our Jamual Forrest explains in this film breakdown, Williams is a quality route runner with good releases and the technical skill to make plays in this league. He should do that as a rookie, even if his catch volume and overall totals won’t be as high as they will down the road.
What are your expectations for Antonio Williams in his rookie year? Add them and a stat line — what the heck? — to the comments below.
