Mel Kiper, Todd McShay reveal how costly Jameson Williams injury was

ESPN NFL Draft gurus Mel Kiper and Todd McShay still believe Jameson Williams will be a premier selection come April. However, the injury the star wide receiver suffered in the national championship game could cause him to fall a couple spots.

In his first mock for the 2022 NFL Draft, Kiper has Williams going No. 21 to the New England Patriots. In a special on ESPN, Kiper elaborated, giving a hot take on Alabama winning the title, as well.

“Well, 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 against Georgia — and I think if he would have finished that game they would have beaten Georgia,” Kiper revealed about Williams. “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. Special teams ability. Phenomenal. Great player to watch. Great player to have on your football team with the energy he plays with. He is a true baller,” Kiper continued. “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-ten pick. I think that’s a nice choice and worth the gamble at that point.”

McShay on Williams: ‘I would take him as the number one receiver in this class’

Furthermore, McShay agreed with Kiper on Williams. Evidently, both me don’t believe the injury to the Alabama receiver will scare teams away.

“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,” stated McShay. “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.

“Also, scouts I’ve talked to they point to why wasn’t he one of the guys at Ohio State? He was basically going to be a number three/number four ultimately this past season,” McShay continued. “Now, granted the first three guys we talked about Olave, Garrett Wilson and then their slot receiver all are going to be first-round receivers in the NFL. So you understand why but the practice habits and the consistency in practice weren’t as good as in the game. You saw when he got in the game at Alabama it’s a whole different animal.”

Still, there’s one part of Williams’ game that separates him from the rest of the draft-eligible receivers in this class.

“This guy is special in terms of speed,” McShay said of Williams. “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 its worth the wait.”