Intel on P. J. Williams from @Noled_Out

With all the new drafted players on board for the Black and Gold I took the time to reach out to some of the most knowledgeable fans, beat writers and bloggers for information on what to expect from the newest crop of talent. And when it came to Florida State cornerback P. J. Williams, who the Saints took in the 3rd round, I was fortunate enough to have someone right here on the Bloguin Network to reach out to. Mike Ferguson of Noled Out was kind enough to give me his thoughts on Williams.  Many thanks to David for this write up, and make sure you give him some love on twitter. Here is what he had to say about about the Saints’ newest corner:

At 6’0″ and nearly 200 pounds, P.J. Williams is a complete cornerback. Williams rarely gets lost in coverage and is physical at the line of scrimmage. He recorded four interceptions over his final two seasons as a Seminole including one in the 2014 BCS National Championship, earning Defensive Player of the Game honors. 

As a junior in 2014, Williams was beat more often than the previous year, but in many cases, Williams had good coverage, but failed to locate the football in time. In run defense, Williams is also an above average tackler from his cornerback spot.

Though his recent DUI was overturned, Williams has made some questionable decisions behind the wheel of the car. He was involved in an accident in October of 2014 in which he hit another car in the wee hours of the morning and left the scene before returning. 

These incidents are certainly cause for concern and something New Orleans needs to address early with him. Before he buys his mother a house, he might want to hire a personal driver, but I don’t see this being a sign of troubling things to come for the Saints.

Williams will certainly need to mature, but I see the cornerback from Ocala as an instant contributor for New Orleans and a long-term starter. Once projected as a first rounder, Saints’ fans should be very happy with this pick in the third round.

Hopefully the positive influence of Keenan Lewis, Brandon Browner and Kyle Wilson can help him keep his head on straight. Thoughts?