2021 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: DB Trill Williams, Syracuse

Syracuse defender Trill Williams is yet another intriguing Day 3 value pick. Here's what he brings to the table.

DB TRILL WILLIAMS 

Height: 6'1"
Weight: 198 lbs.
Class: Junior  
School: Syracuse  

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Williams is a Yonkers, New York native who was a four-star recruit in the 2018 cycle. Williams was the third-ranked recruit that year, and the 356th national, according to 247 Sports.

He was a very productive cornerback, running back, and wide receiver at the prominent and dominant Archbishop Stepinac High School.

Williams brought a ton of energy to the Syracuse defense. In 27 games, he recorded 92 tackles, 3.5 for a loss, four interceptions, five passes defended, and three forced fumbles.

Williams also had three touchdowns in college, one on a punt return in 2018, another was an impressive strip on his own 3-yard line that he took 97 yards for the score in 2019.

The final score was on an interception he took for a touchdown in 2020. He almost had another touchdown in 2019 with an interception thrown by Trevor Lawrence, but stud linebacker Travis Ettienne made the tackle at the three-yard line.

Notables

He suffered a left ankle injury in 2019 that forced him to leave a game. He played the majority of 2020 dealing with another ankle injury.

He was limited for much of the season and decided to opt-out after five games to focus on the NFL Draft. Surgery might have been on the horizon if he did not opt-out of the season.

Traits

Good NFL frame and length with good overall athletic traits displayed by excellent straight-line speed, closing burst, and solid quickness. 

A versatile player who was used a lot in the slot and played opposite Ifeatu Melifonwu, who is also in this draft. He also lined up at safety in some third down and long situations.

I wish he were better in man coverage; despite being a good athlete, he’s not great in transitions with his change of direction - footwork and hips could be a bit more fluid. If tasked to sprint someone down, he’s going to excel. 

He's not a liability in man coverage, but he isn’t consistently in a position to maximize some of his other intriguing gifts.

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He showed the vision to play zone and did a solid job recognizing screens and aggressively attacking downhill to blow the play up completely. A very aggressive player in general who is on team “trash talk.” Constantly chirping and plays with a ton of competitive and physical toughness.

He throws his weight around well--he has the “hit stick” element to his game. The tackle point's impressive play strength makes him solid in run defense; he can fly into the tackle point a bit too aggressively and lose some mechanics, but the guy can hit. He gambles and goes for the football strip at times as well.

Overall, a highly regarded prospect coming out of high school who was dinged up a lot throughout his college career. Showed great toughness playing through injury before deciding to opt-out and focus on the draft. 

He will be a good value selection on day three; he has the size, physicality, confidence, and ability to play cornerback in the NFL. 

I wish he were a bit better with his transitions in man coverage--that would make him a more coveted prospect, but either way, Williams can play. 

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