Demetrius Williams: Better than advertised

By Darrell Laurant  |   Monday, August 06, 2007  |  Comments( 0 )

Baltimore Ravens
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You can't always believe what you read in scouting reports.

Prior to the 2006 draft, University of Oregon receiver Demetrius Williams was criticized for having average-to-below-average hands and only 4.55 speed, rather pedestrian for a wideout.

"He is a smooth route-runner who consistently has shown the quickness out of his cuts to get separation from defenders," noted CBS Sportsline, "but lacks the explosiveness and top-end playing speed to run away from the defense."

Tell that to the Cleveland Browns. After starting QB Steve McNair had gone out with an injury last Dec. 17 with the Browns and Ravens tied 17-17 in the third quarter, backup Kyle Boller took a snap at his own 23 and spotted Williams running free far down the left sideline. Boller, who has a stronger (if not necessarily more accurate) gun than McNair, lofted a bomb in Williams' direction. The rookie had to turn in two directions to grab the ball near the sideline, then outraced two Cleveland defenders to the end zone for a 77-yard touchdown.

The following week, Williams caught a couple of passes for 45 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and his star has been rising ever since. He finished with 22 catches for 394 yards, averaging over 18 yards a reception.

That, of course, was playing behind Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton as well as McNair feeling his way through Brian Billick's offense early in the season.

Now, though, because new featured RB Willis McGahee is comfortable running out of a one-back set, Billick may employ more four-receiver alignments this season. That will give Williams more opportunities to stretch the field -- of his 22 catches as a rookie, more than half were for first downs. He has become the dagger in the Ravens' arsenal of wideouts.

"We all saw what Demetrius could do last year," Billick told the Baltimore Sun after a recent practice. "He needs to build on that."

Apparently, the Ravens' quarterbacks are ready to help him. In a recent neighborhood scrimmage against the Washington Redskins, all four Baltimore passers -- McNair, Boller, Troy Smith and Drew Olson -- aimed passes in Williams' direction, twice in the end zone. He caught three of them for 37 yards, the best performance that day by a Baltimore receiver.

As a sophomore at Oregon, the 6-foot-2, 197-pound Williams (whose nickname is "Gumby," a tribute to his flexibility) piled up 57 catches and 935 receiving yards. The next season, those totals shrunk to 47-593 -- not so much because Williams' skills had somehow diminished, but because of injuries and a change in coaching strategy that relied more on the run.

The rest, though, is Duck history -- Williams snagged 59 passes for 1,059 yards as a senior and was drafted by the Ravens in the fourth round. That may turn out to be a steal.

As for his once-suspect hands, one Ravens fan blog noted recently after a practice session, "Demetrius Williams has been catching everything."

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