2017 NFL Draft: Cincinnati Bengals Final 7-Round Mock Draft
By Kenn Korb
Round 6, Pick 9: Joe Williams, RB – Utah
As mentioned earlier, character concerns don’t scare off the Bengals if they believe a guy has the capacity to improve as a person and can be a solid contributor for their team. That’s good news for Williams, because he’s got plenty of red flags.
He was suspended from Connecticut in 2013 for credit card theft, having to rekindle his value at little-known ASA College in 2014. Then last year with Utah, he ended up basically retiring for a stretch of the season before returning after injuries struck his backfield mates.
His actions have shown him to be out for himself to a startling degree, and that will rightfully have teams extremely wary of bringing him in. It makes sense: if you think a guy isn’t willing to make the sacrifices necessary to help his team, then why even risk adding that sort of mentality to the locker room? But if there is a team willing to look past all that baggage, it’s Cincinnati.
I won’t re-list everything they’ve already shown a willingness to overlook with players in the past, but with a grouping as extensive as the one they’ve compiled over the years, if they like his talent they probably won’t hesitate long to grab him at this point of the draft.
Williams isn’t an every-down option, but that would be fine for Cincinnati. They don’t need him to fill an immediate role, and they already work with two runners who handle sizably differing responsibilities on the field.
Jeremy Hill handles early down work and doesn’t catch passes. Giovani Bernard can catch and run, but isn’t really built for a full workload. If Williams is grabbed, Hill should be on notice. While both he and Bernard and have struggled the past couple years, his limited ability as a pass catcher makes him even more of a liability when he’s not running well. Hill to his credit seems motivated to go out and prove he really is the guy we saw prior to 2015 — including welcoming the addition of a new challenger to the group.
Taking a late-round chance on a guy who could seamlessly fit into his role (assuming Williams matures) feels like the perfect way to both add additional motivation for Hill and give them a fallback should his 2015-2016 seasons prove to be the norm.
Alternative Selection: Jourdan Lewis, CB – Michigan
This would make sense in either scenario I’ve given so far. Now, there is a significant chance Lewis is long gone by now. His play style and determination are huge check marks for teams.
His size will be a major concern, however. His slender frame could lead to injuries and an inability to handle bigger players with regularity, and that would be something opposing teams can gameplan around to exploit. With that in mind, he could find himself falling towards the later rounds.
If he does, regardless of their other moves at this spot, the Bengals should pounce.
Should the team pick up Tabor a couple rounds earlier, it serves as both a safety valve should his maturity and character issues not go away. If they grab Jones early on, Lewis gets to be a more immediate option while Jones heals and is a fallback in case Jones isn’t the same player once he does recover.
In the best-case scenario, he’s one of a three-man group (Dre Kirkpatrick, Tabor/Jones, Lewis) that could man the main cornerback responsibilities long-term (and if Darqueze Dennard and/or Josh Shaw are able to find/keep success, a deep five-man unit). In the worst? He’s a low-risk option who shouldn’t be a professional concern for his club.