Cardinals GM Steve Keim joked that it would not be an Arizona Cardinals draft if they did not take a player from a small school, specifically in the third round.
After finding success in past years with John Brown out of Pittsburg State in 2014 and David Johnson from Northern Iowa in 2015, Chad Williams, whom the Cardinals tabbed with the 98th overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, has quite the standards to live up to.
“Definitely can live up to that,” he said. “Honestly, it doesn’t matter where you get drafted. You have a lot of guys drafted in the third round that were amazing guys.
“I just want to come in and be me and I know for a fact I can live up to that third-round hype that you guys got going.”
The Cardinals obviously see something in Williams, otherwise, they would not have used their third-round pick on him. Expecting Brown or Johnson-like success, however, would be a bit unfair.
Yet, what the Cardinals see in the wideout is someone who at 6-foot-1 at his pro day ran the 40-yard dash at 4.37 seconds while posting a 35.5-inch vertical and 21 reps on the bench press.
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said the team was looking for a big receiver, and he believes Williams, who in an early-season game this past season in Tucson against Arizona gained 152 yards on 13 catches, fits the role.
[…] The NFL Draft hasn’t seen this many HBCU prospects since 2011. From North Carolina A&T Running Back Tarik Cohen Selected by Chicago Bears to Albany State Lineman Grover Stewart Selected by The Indianapolis Colts to Alabama State OL Jylan Ware Picked Up By The Oakland Raiders and Grambling WR Chad Williams Gets The Call From The Arizona Cardinals. […]