The pro day circuit is in full swing, and Thursday sees the focus shift to the Louisiana Tech Pro Day. Although you wouldn’t expect all eyes to be on the Bulldogs, one player, in particular, is driving interest — and NFL scouts — to Ruston, Louisiana. As Tony Pauline alludes to in the Draft Insiders show with Trey Wingo, defensive lineman Milton Williams is attracting NFL Draft attention, especially that of the Dallas Cowboys.
Pro Day Update from Tony Pauline: Milton Williams exceeds expectations
Near 60 scouts were on hand for Louisiana Tech’s Pro Day, most to see fast-rising defensive lineman Milton Williams, who did not disappoint.
[sv slug=”drizly”]Since December, I’ve mentioned Williams was expected to test through the roof and talked about some possible numbers during last night’s Draft Insiders podcast with Trey Wingo. Williams exceeded expectations.
At 284 pounds, Williams touched 38.5 inches in the vertical, 10’1″ in the broad jump, and he completed 34 reps on the bench. His 40 timed as low as 4.62 seconds while his three-cone was an amazing 6.93 seconds. To put that time into context, just a half dozen defensive backs who ran the three-cone during the 2020 NFL Combine posted faster times.
Williams’ position work was outstanding as well. Defensive line coaches from the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Cincinnati Bengals took turns putting Williams through drills. Cowboys assistant defensive line coach Leon Lett was also in attendance.
While Dallas has Williams highly graded, the question is how early in the draft would they select him? Word leaving the workout was the Bengals will seriously consider Williams at the top of the third round with the 69th selection, which is six picks before the Cowboys pick in round three.
Milton Williams will be the star attraction at the Louisiana Tech Pro Day
Among the free agency period’s chaos, colleges are hosting pro days for 2021 NFL Draft prospects. March 18 sees the Lousiana Tech Pro Day take place.
While there are a limited number of prospects drawing national interest, Milton Williams is one name that should be on everyone’s radar. Pauline discussed Milton Williams on the show on March 17.
“Tomorrow, Louisiana Tech has their pro day. They have a defensive lineman by the name of Milton Williams, who we’ve talked about on the show since December. Milton Williams — it was reported a couple of weeks ago at 286 pounds, ran the 40 at 4.68. I had said previously that this guy is expected to test off the roof. I’m told there could be upwards of 70 NFL personnel people at the Louisiana Tech Pro Day tomorrow to watch Milton Williams. He’s going to weigh in about 285 pounds. I’m told he could broach the high 4.5s in the 40, maybe low 4.6s in that area, could go over 33 inches in the vertical, could touch in the mid-30s in the bench press — the guy’s an athletic freak. He doesn’t get talked about a lot because he didn’t have any gaudy stats at Louisiana Tech.”
How is Williams slipping under the radar?
Williams is certainly a name that could draw some attention if he posts those numbers on Thursday. However, as Pauline discussed, his stats do not jump off the page. Pauline addressed why this was the case during the show.
“When I spoke with people at Louisiana Tech as to why that was, it was because the scheme asked him to be more of a gap occupier rather than a playmaker. I thought back to a name that people will recognize, L’Jarius Sneed, a fourth-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs who had a terrific rookie season with the Chiefs last year, came out of Louisiana Tech. It was the same situation.”
Pauline detailed the parallels of the situation for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.
“Sneed was a playmaking cornerback the first two years he was at Louisiana Tech. Senior season they moved him to safety, they asked him to move to just sort of be more disciplined with assignments, keep the action in front of him. That’s what’s happening with Milton Williams. Milton Williams is not talked about a lot out of scouting circles. Inside scouting circles, they love the guy and right now he’s teetering on being a top-75 selection. It’s going to be a big crowd out there tomorrow. We’ll have all the details for you at Pro Football Network.”
The Dallas Cowboys appear interested in Milton Williams
“I mentioned the player, Milton Williams, of Louisiana Tech just a little bit earlier. I know that the Cowboys love him. I’m told that they’re going to send upwards of a half a dozen scouts to the Louisiana Tech pro day to watch him tomorrow. Eric Gleason, Happy St. Patrick’s Day, and remember the name of Milton Williams as we come to draft weekend Day 2 for the Dallas Cowboys.”
Who are the prospects other than Milton Williams to watch at the Lousiana Tech Pro Day?
Outside of Milton Williams, no other Lousiana Tech player is ranked inside the top 300 on Tony Pauline’s big board. In total, Lousiana Tech has seven prospects, including Williams on Pauline’s big board.
- Justin Henderson, RB – Big board ranking: 468
- Adrian Hardy, WR – Big board ranking: 478
- Isaiah Graham, WR – Big board ranking: 789
- Khalil Ladler, S – Big board ranking: 829
- Willie Baker, OLB – Big board ranking: 838
- Kody Russey, C – Big board ranking: 857
The Stanford Pro Day is also on March 18
Away from the excitement of Milton Williams (and the Cowboys), there is plenty of interest in the Stanford Pro Day. In fact, their pro day will receive coverage on NFL Network, with several intriguing prospects on show. Stanford has two prospects ranked inside the top 100 prospects, with four ranked inside the top 210.
- Walker Little, T – Big board ranking: 42
- Davis Mills, QB – Big board ranking: 91
- Paulson Adebo, CB – Big board ranking: 103
- Drew Dalman, C – Big board ranking: 135
- Simi Fehoko, WR – Big board ranking: 143
- Foster Sarell, T – Big board ranking: 202
- Curtis Robinson, LB – Big board ranking: 409
- Malik Antoine, S – Big board ranking: 652
- Connor Wedington, WR – Big board ranking: 680
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