Mel Kiper forecasts Jameson William's landing spot in first mock draft

When Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams went down with a torn ACL in the national championship, fans asked how that’d impact his draft stock. ESPN analyst Mel Kiper shared his thoughts on just how far he’d fall.

He’ll still be in the first round — an Kiper called him a “bargain.”

During his Mock Draft 1.0 reveal show on Wednesday, Kiper projected Williams to the New England Patriots with the No. 21 overall pick. He went on to explain what the Patriots could be getting in Williams even after the injury.

“They need weapons and they’re going to get a guy at 21 that had he not had the ACL in the national championship game … would have beaten Georgia,” Kiper said. “But he got hurt early second quarter. Now the ACL pushes him to 21 where he could have been a pick in that 7 to 10 area. And now the New England Patriots can say, ‘Hey, we’re getting a bargain here. Had he not been injured, we wouldn’t have seen him at this point. We would have had to trade way up to get him. Now we’re patient. We got to wait for him to get healthy.’

“It’ll be well worth it. He can take the top off the defense like no other. He is a warrior. … Great player to have on your football team with the energy he plays with. He is a true baller. You think about a guy who goes out there and gives it everything he has every snap. Gotta love Jameson Williams. It’s awful what happened, but the Patriots would get themselves a heck of a steal if he can get back to where he was and be there at 21 when he would have been a guaranteed top-10 pick. I think that’s a nice choice and worth the gamble at that point.”

Todd McShay on the impact of Jameson Williams’ injury

After Kiper broke down what the Patriots would get in Williams, Todd McShay weighed in about how the injury affected his draft stock. He said he would’ve had Williams in the top 10 — which says something considering Garrett Wilson is Kiper’s first receiver off the board at No. 13.

“If you don’t factor in the injury, I would take him as the number one receiver in this class and I was thinking about somewhere in the top 10,” McShay said. “Now you lose him for part of the rookie season. Is he going to be full strength until maybe his second year in the NFL? And so you have concerns there. I get it. … This guy is special in terms of speed.

“If the Patriots were to get him at 21, they would be in complete luck having that pick there because I believe he’s going to be a huge difference maker in the NFL. It may take until his second year but it’s worth the investment and it’s worth the wait.”