Scouting Profile: Kyle Williams - WR - Washington State
Sales Pitch: Fluid route runner with the ball skills and speed to be a vertical mismatch. A lighter frame creates issues with physicality that may limit his upside at the next level.
*Gold Numbers Indicate NCAA T-25 for 2024*
Scouting Report
Kyle Williams is a former 3-Star recruit from the state of California. He spent his first three seasons at UNLV, where he started 25 games and was the Mountain West Freshman of the year. Williams transferred to Washington State prior to the 2023 season, and put up 2,000 yards across 25 starts.
Williams is a loose fluid athlete with excellent long speed. He has shown the ability to line up at all three receiver spots in his career but fits best off the line where he can get free releases. Williams is an easy accelerator out of his stance and uses strong contact balance and slippery movement skills to evade and slide around press coverage. He is an easy mover with the foot speed to get quickly in and out of his breaks at all three levels. Williams is at his best as a vertical route runner. His long speed and deep ball tracking make him a big play threat that stretches the top of opposing defenses. He has the body control and dexterity to corral difficult catches outside his frame as well. Washington State loved to use Williams on screens and designed touches - his 232 screen yards were the 11th most in the FBS - where his speed and contact balance are major weapons. He is quick to explode upfield after the catch with the agility to elude defenders in space.
Williams is a slender receiver with below average mass and length for the position. While he has experience playing all three spots, his lack of size will likely limit him to the Z and F roles at the NFL level, as he can struggle to play through contact at the line of scrimmage. Williams is an inefficient route runner. He wastes a lot of energy with unnecessary movements during the drive and break phases of his routes. Despite his movement skills, he has a poor habit of rounding the top of his routes which allows defenders back into plays. Williams has good hands but is a bit of a body catcher. He lets the ball get too deep into his frame, which create inconsistencies when playing in traffic. His lack of size also hurts his ability to win in contested catch situations versus bigger DBs.
Williams profiles vertical Z-WR who takes on WR2 duties. His age and size aren’t ideal given his inconsistent play style, but has the movement skills and speed of a plus player at the NFL level. Williams projects as a mid Day-2 pick for a team looking for a versatile route runner and deep threat.