Adam Schefter provides injury update on Jameson Williams ahead of 2022 NFL Draft

Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams, who projects as the top wide receiver in the 2022 NFL Draft, suffered a non-contact knee injury in the Crimson Tide’s national championship loss, an injury that was later reported to be a torn ACL.

However, ESPN’s Adam Schefter previously noted that Williams was expected to retain his sub-4.3 speed and quickly recover from the injury, an important note heading into the 2022 NFL Draft. During Wednesday’s NFL Draft SportsCenter Special, Schefter gave an additional update on Williams and his road to recovery — though he still seems a ways away from returning in full capacity, Schefter believes his roadmap works out perfectly for a team with legitimate postseason hopes.

“I think he could miss the start of the season. I think he could be one of those candidates for the physically unable to perform list, but he could be a guy that comes along midseason next year, and contributes to a team in the second half of the year,” Schefter said of Williams. “So, if you’re a team and you’re considering drafting him, you have to ask yourself: ‘are we willing to forego the first five, six, seven games of the season, whatever it may be, to get him back for the second half? I think he could be on track to (return for the second half). Then, at that point in time, you bring him back. Look what happened with Jaylen Waddle this year. We saw him come on late and play well. This could be this year’s example of that.”

Most experts still have Williams as a mid-to-late first-round pick. Click here to see where he’s projected to be selected across various NFL Mock Drafts.

Williams was a former five-star recruit via the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies, making him the No. 16 wide receiver and No. 1 recruit in the state of Missouri in the 2019 recruiting class.

Williams committed to Ohio State and hardly played in a two-year span, thanks in part to a crowded wide receiver room, and he managed just 15 total receptions in 2019 and 2020 combined. After transferring to Alabama, however, his draft stock began to soar immediately: he notched 79 receptions for 1,572 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns in 2021.

Jameson Williams suffers non-contact injury in national championship

Williams, a star wide receiver for the Crimson Tide, went down with a non-contact injury in the second quarter of Alabama’s national championship contest with Georgia. His injury came shortly after Alabama lost wide receiver John Metchie to a torn ACL in the SEC Championship.

Alabama scored a field goal on its first drive then punted twice — and on the fourth drive, the Crimson Tide got off to an excellent start thanks to Williams. On first-and-10 from Alabama’s own 26-yard line, quarterback Bryce Young dropped back in the pocket and found Williams wide open in the middle of the field for a big 40-yard gain. However, shortly after crossing midfield, Williams was met by a Georgia defender and appeared to buckle his knee as he made his way to the turf.

At the time of his injury, Williams had four receptions for 65 yards, the latter of which led all Alabama receivers.