10. Marcus Williams, safety, Utah
And now we come to it. Our final entry. And it’s a doozy.
Williams has the makings of a tremendous NFL free safety. He has the size (6-foot-1, 201 pounds), speed, quickness and best of all the instincts to be a dangerous NFL ball hawk.
In his three seasons at Utah, Williams was a productive player who developed into a feared defender on the back end for the Utes. He racked up 10 interceptions and eight other defended passes the last two seasons, hauling in five interceptions in each of them.
No, Williams isn’t going to scare anyone defending the run, but that’s not what he does. He’s a pure free safety in the mold of Eric Weddle, who has been able to thrive in the NFL the past 10 years despite his smallish frame.
Yet we’ll be surprised if Williams is drafted any earlier than the bottom half of Round 2. He will end up becoming more valuable in the long run than that, and he certainly deserves more respect.