Expectations high for rookie WR Williams

Receiver was a position of drastic need for Tennessee in the draft and as the first receiver selected by the Titans, Paul Williams will have to meet some lofty expectations. Along with fellow draft picks Chris Davis and Joel Filani, they’ll have to replace Drew Bennett and Bobby Wade, the Titans’ leading receivers last year.
That’s asking a lot of any rookie receiver, but Williams has the measurables to be a good NFL player. He’s also got the bloodline, following his older brother J.D., a defensive back, into the league.
At 6′ 1″ and 209 pounds, Williams has good size to complement his athleticism and 4.41 speed.
Williams is viewed strictly as a wideout, where he and Filani will compete with veterans Brandon Jones, Roydell Williams, Courtney Roby, Jonathan Orr and Justin Gage for playing time.
It will take a little while to get used to having two receivers named Williams. There have been times before when the Titans had three Williamses on the team, but never at the same position until now. When Roydell Williams was drafted by the Titans in 2005, he joined safety Tank Williams and tackle Todd Williams on the roster. But I digress.
I’m hoping Paul Williams’ speed will make him a deep threat and loosen up defenses, but that may be wishful thinking. The Titans have had very fast guys at receiver before (Roby had 4.28 speed) who haven’t developed as well as expected.
Still, Williams, like every other new player, deserves the chance to prove himself on the field.
Williams garnered first team All-Western Athletic Conference honors at Fresno State, where he also excelled as a gunner on punt coverage.

Here’s what Jeff Fisher said about Williams’ attributes:

• “Size. Speed. Excellent hands. Very long arms. He gains speed very quickly off the line of scrimmage and so that gives him the ability to separate against a good defender. He had been healthy throughout his college career up until this last year. He had a number of things and didn’t get the starts in order to have the numbers that he would have liked because of injury, but we feel that these were just unusual things that happened and he is not an injury prone player. He is very strong, exceptionally strong with big shoulders. Someone made a comment that he had the longest arms at the combine. He does a great job of catching out of the flank. We feel like he blocks and he is a complete receiver.”

This is what Williams said about the opportunity to play with Vince Young:

• “As soon as they said Paul Williams to Tennessee, that’s what I was thinking about. Vince Young is a great player, and I’m looking forward to being there beside him and being his right hand man.”