New Orleans Saints: Making the case for Maxx Williams

By Luis Tirado Jr. | Apr 27, 2015

The New Orleans Saints are a team trying to rebuild itself to head back to their glory days of being a successful team with a high-octane attack.

While many fans of the Saints were ultimately shocked that they traded away tight end Jimmy Graham to the Seattle Seahawks this offseason, it makes sense towards the grand scheme of things. They did get center Max Unger to help solidify another weakness on the team and the Seahawks’ No. 31 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Should the Saints actually use it to get a suitable replacement for Graham?

At 6’4″ and 254 pounds, Williams is a prototypical tight end that shouldn’t have any problems transitioning into the pros. In his collegiate career at Minnesota, Williams totaled 61 receptions for 986 yards and 13 touchdowns.

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With a solid frame and knack for finding open space, Williams would work wonders on a Saints’ offense that is trying to rebuild its identity. Looking at his yards per catch (16.2 average), it’s easy to see that he can easily keep those chains moving.

While he didn’t score a ton of touchdowns in college, his high football IQ should enable him to grasp the Saints’ offensive playbook easily and turn into quite the red-zone threat. After watching video highlights of what he brings to the table, the way he can acrobatically catch anything coming away with his size is pretty impressive.

Only thing on Williams to work on is perfecting his route-running and adding some speed to his arsenal. If he were to be put on the right regimen to lose a bit of weight to become slightly faster, I can definitely see him getting more starting reps sooner than later.

Another area I can see Williams contributing is on dual tight end formations on power rushing plays. He’s actually very good in run-blocking schemes as he can help contribute in that area as he gets acclimated to life in the NFL.

Jan 1, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers tight end Maxx Williams (88) and Missouri Tigers defensive back Aarion Penton (11) reach for the ball in the end zone during the second half in the 2015 Citrus Bowl at Florida Citrus Bowl. Missouri wins 33-17 over Minnesota. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Quarterback Drew Brees is approaching the final stages of his illustrious career as it’s important to rebuild the supporting cast around him to let him do what he does best. He has lost one of his most reliable and explosive play-makers in Graham so it only makes sense for the Saints to give him more weapons to work into his arsenal.

Williams is the kind of athlete that will give it 110 percent on each and every play he’s on the field for. He’s known to do everything and anything to make receptions to put his team in a position to succeed. His future will indeed be a bright one thanks to being able to work with one of the top quarterbacks playing in the league today.

Overall, I think the Saints should definitely go the route of drafting Williams with their second first-round pick of the draft. He can be molded to become an awesome contributor on offense while also doing his best to ease the pain that even though Graham is truly gone but maybe, just maybe, a new face at the position with potential to be the next big thing is what the doctor ordered.

Next: New Orleans Saints: Making the case for Brandon Scherff

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