Where does Jameson Williams fall on the Philadelphia Eagles’ board?

By my estimation, there are as many as five wide receivers who could be in play when the Philadelphia Eagles go on the clock for pick 15 in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Now granted, could there be a rush on WRs in the early teens, and suddenly, there are only two, maybe even three of those “first round” wide receivers left on the board? The Eagles aren’t the only team with multiple first-round picks in this year’s class, and assuming teams don’t start trading up for quarterbacks, there’s a pretty good chance teams like the New York Jets, the Houston Texans, and the New York Giants could use their second picks on wideouts before Howie Roseman can even use his first.

If that happens, the Eagles will have to select a wide receiver from the players left on the board or go with another player at a different position who is (presumably) higher on their personal draft board.

Where would Jameson Williams fit into that equation? Is the Alabama product a top-15, let alone top-18 player on the Philadelphia Eagles’ board, or would the prospects of drafting a player like Christian Watson or Skyy Moore falling to pick 51 make more sense help to mitigate the need to reach for a lesser player because of the team’s needs at the position? Let’s try to find out.

Does Jameson Williams’ game fit with the Philadelphia Eagles’ core?

What is Quez Watkins‘ ceiling with the Philadelphia Eagles? Is he a legit top-3 wide receiver who provides utility inside and out as a game-changing deep threat, or is he more of a WR4 who rotates into games situationally but probably shouldn’t be on the field every play? And what about DeVonta Smith? Is he best positioned lined up off the line of scrimmage as a flanker? Or can he eventually become a full-time X receiver despite his lack of muscle mass?

Those evaluations, my friends, could directly impact how high the Eagles’ brass is on Jameson Williams’ fit with the team.

On paper, Williams is the exact kind of wide receiver teams are looking for in the first round. He’s 6-foot-1, blazing-fast, and has an eye for the endzone, as his 15 touchdowns during his lone season at Alabama clearly proves. While he was a bit of a one-year wonder, as the Ohio State transfer traveled south for his third collegiate season in Tuscaloosa, he did put up 1,572 yards on only 79 catches, which is actually more efficient than Smith’s Heisman Trophy-winning season in 2020, and was able to destroy SEC cornerbacks with his elite speed and unique ability to get himself open.

In the right scheme, Williams can be a legit though unconventional WR1, especially if he’s paired up with a solid secondary option like when the Philadelphia Eagles paired up DeSean Jackson with Jeremy Maclin. But is that scheme the one the 2022 Philadelphia Eagles run?

Again, it depends.

If the Eagles see Watkins as a premier speedy slot and think that Smith is capable of reliably beating the press at the line of scrimmage, then having Williams as the team’s third regular starter makes sense. His speed is very much marquee, and his ability to get open down the field would help immensely to open things up on the outside. That, when coupled with the Eagles’ dynamic rushing attack, would make the offense very hard to guard, to say the least, and open up the entire field for Nick Sirianni to attack.

But then again, in 2017, the Eagles’ deep threat, Torrey Smith, actually had 217 fewer yards than Watkins had in 2021, and the threat of a big play over the top may be enough to open things up for a prototypical X on the outside, and a nimble technician in the slot. If the Eagles opt to go that route with their roster composition, (DeVonta) Smith could be an absolute machine in the slot, and Watkins could be (Torrey) Smith-plus, leaving the need for a big X like London Drake/Treylon Burks in the first round, or a player like Christian Watson, George Picken, or Alec Pierce later in the draft.

There’s also a possibility that the Eagles might see Smith as an ideal Z receiver moving forward, which would force Williams either into the slot or on the outside as an X receiver, neither of which are his natural positions. While Williams’ talent is good enough to potentially make that work and produce at the same level, if not better than Watkins was able to in 2021, drafting a player into a role they aren’t built for, especially in the first round, feels rather antithetical to the prospects of securing Day 1 contributors on Day 1.

Needless to say, after suffering through the 2021 NFL season with only so many offensive options, the Eagles have an opportunity to radically reshape their offensive identity in a few different ways in 2022. How they choose to do so, however, will be very interesting indeed.

There’s no doubt about it; Jameson Williams will hear his name called on Day 1 of the 2022 NFL Draft. His speed is elite, he’s an offensive difference-maker, and some team will fall in love with his ability to take the top off of a defense. While the Philadelphia Eagles very well could be that team, viewing Williams as the DeSean Jackson-style lightning to DeVonta Smith’s Jeremy Maclin-esque thunder, it’s just as likely the team cold view his role as redundant with the players they already have and opt to draft a player like Andrew Booth instead with the hopes that a bigger X prospect will still be available on Day 2 or even 3.