Packers Rookie Preview; Evan Williams

Evan Williams is the perfect Jeff Hafley safety.

The Green Bay Packers tripled up on safeties in the 2024 NFL Draft, and Evan Williams has a unique skill set that should help him stand out in the group.

Williams transferred to Oregon in 2023 after earning second-team All-Mountain West honors at Fresno State the previous season. It took him zero time to get acclimated to his new program, earning second-team All-Pac-12 honors for the Ducks with 82 total tackles, 4.5 sacks, two pass breakups, and a forced fumble.

While he wasn’t a household name on consensus big boards, Williams heard his name called in the fourth round of this year’s draft. He’s a smaller safety at 5’11” and 200 pounds but posted a strong Relative Athletic Score of 8.20.

Although he may be smaller than traditional box safeties, Williams brings tremendous effort and intensity to the position. The tape shows a player that will fit perfectly with what new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley wants to do with his aggressive philosophy on Green Bay’s new-look defense.

What stands out almost immediately with Williams is his post-snap recognition and explosiveness when triggering downhill. When he diagnoses and reacts to a play happening in front of him, he can quickly blow it up. He showed that multiple times throughout Oregon’s dominant win over Colorado.

Teams that run mesh or underneath routes need elite speedsters in order to successfully run them against Williams. The Packers rookie can trigger so quickly with proper pursuit angles that he’s able to consistently prevent unnecessary YAC.

Playing from depth means that Williams needs to have a feel for pursuit angles in all aspects of the game. He does a great job of that, and his motor allows him to find his way into plays other safeties may not be willing to put in the effort to get to.

What’s the most surprising about Williams is the strength he plays with in a 200-pound frame. His size can still get the best of him at times, but when he comes downhill with enough momentum, he can be a legitimate thumper.

Just watch how much stopping power he brings into this tackle against USC.

Running backs can also struggle handling Williams in pass protection. He was effective as disguising his blitzes last season, but he also had a great feel for how to engage with backs in pass pro at the point of attack.

Instead of stopping his feet, Williams refused to slow his momentum on this rush, running through the back with good pad level on his way to a sack on Shedeur Sanders.

Despite all of the fun downhill stuff, Williams does have some limitations as a smaller safety. Against teams with more effective offensive line play, Williams can find himself matched up against guards and tackles in the run game.

This trick play shows just how strong Williams is processing post-snap information, but his limitations from a size standpoint. It’s a bit unfair to expect him to handle being double teamed by two linemen, but it’s an example of what could happen at the next level.

The bigger concern for Williams is how he’ll operate as an open-field tackler. He missed 56 tackles over his college career (per PFF), and shows a bit of stiffness in his game when he’s forced to gear down and stay home.

There’s also some concern with Williams’ long speed. While I was unable to find a good example in the couple of games I watched, he doesn’t possess top-end play speed to likely handle full-time duties as a post safety. His 40-yard dash time of 4.6 seconds would also suggest that top-end play speed isn’t his strength.

It will be an uphill battle for Williams to earn a starting role given how much competition the Packers have added to the safety room. However, with a strong training camp, he could earn some defensive snaps.

At the very least, Williams’ skill set will make him an immediate special teams contributor as a rookie.