Falcons RB Avery Williams Draws 'Fantastic' Praise from Browns Coach

Atlanta Falcons running back and special teams ace Avery Williams wasn't one of the most commonly talked about players in his draft class, but he was well-liked by at least one other team - the Cleveland Browns, who travels to Atlanta for a road matchup on Sunday.

When the Atlanta Falcons' kick return team takes the field for Sunday's matchup against the Cleveland Browns, they'll do so with second-year pro Avery Williams waiting in the endzone.

However, during the pre-draft process, things nearly worked out to where Williams would be entering Atlanta on the opposing factor. An All-Mountain West first-team defensive back, Williams had performed well enough to draw attention, but it was his special teams prowess that really had teams interested.

A two-time recipient of the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year award, Williams had six punt return touchdowns, three kick return touchdowns and blocked several field goals.

His success led the Falcons to use a fifth-round draft pick on him, and if they hadn't, it's entirely possible that the Browns would've selected him later on, as Williams blew away Browns special teams coordinator Mike Priefer throughout the process.

“He is a fantastic special teams player," Priefer said in the lead-up to Sunday's game. "We interviewed him before the draft. It was a Zoom interview because it was during the COVID times. I loved the way he played the game. Watched him on tape. We interviewed him for about an hour on Zoom, and I am like, ‘This guy is special.’"

The 5-9, 195-pound Williams has used his "special" traits to transition from nickel corner to running back. Last season, he impressed as a return specialist, averaging over seven yards per punt return and handling primary kick return duties.

As a result, the Falcons opted to move Williams to offense, enabling the team to get the ball in his hands more often. Thus far, the former Boise State star has three carries for 16 yards and caught two passes for 14 yards, serving in a backup role behind Cordarrelle Patterson and Tyler Allgeier.

By all accounts, Williams has proven he was worthy of his draft selection, which is no surprise to Priefer when considering the collegiate production and mental attributes Williams possesses.

"He was returning punts for touchdowns, he was blocking punts for touchdowns," began Priefer. "It is really important to him. He is a smaller athlete who plays so hard, and you can’t bring him down with an arm tackle either. We definitely have our challenges with both sets of returners and both guys."

The other returner Cleveland will be focusing on is Patterson, who's tied for the all-time NFL record for kick return touchdowns. 

However, just like during the draft process, Priefer will give plenty of attention to the "special" Williams, starting at 1 p.m. Sunday in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft

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