Grade

Photo: Susan Lloyd / Clemson Sports Talk

2nd Round - 3rd Round

2026 Draft Class

Antonio Williams

Status

DraftedR3 • P71Washington Commanders

Clemson

5'11 1/2"

187lbs

Age 22

Jun 12, 2026

Executive Summary

Antonio Williams projects as a reliable NFL slot receiver whose intelligence, route-running nuance, and versatility provide a strong foundation for a long professional career.

Strengths

Route Running, Game IQ / Processing, and Versatility

Weaknesses

Run Blocking, Ball Skills, and RAC Ability

Full Scouting Report

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Route Running

Pros:

•Tempos routes well

•Utilizes head fakes

•Varies his press release and tempos

•Gets on the DBs toes in a hurry and then breaks off well

•Sinks his hips sort’ve

•Always sells the go ball and stems his routes really well

•Gets in and out of his breaks extremely well

•Can pretty consistently manipulate defenders hips

•Weaves through traffic well

•Decent hand activation throughout the route

Cons:

•Struggles with physicality

•Nothing about his route running necessarily wows you

•Can get pushed off his route with physicality

•More patient corners can counter him

•Never really saw him get pressed that often

•Takes too long at times to get open

•Cuts need to be sharper

RAC / YAC Ability

Pros:

•Balance along the sideline to pick up extra yards

•Gets upfield quick and has decent acceleration after the catch

•Has some okay cutting and juking ability

•Can rip off big chunk plays

•Shown some decent leg drive after his runs and does a decent job falling forward

Cons:

•Not really gonna break tackles

•Not a true playmaker

•Not gonna house call something

•Juking ability isn’t quite where you would like it

Athleticism / Frame

Pros:

•8.55 RAS Score

•Elite vertical at 39.5 vertical

•Above average 10.4 broad

•4.41 40-yard dash

•Has enough separating speed

Cons:

•Slightly undersized arm length

•5’11” is slightly undersized

•4.41 40 doesn’t show up on film and isn’t a true field stretcher

Ball Skills

Pros:

•Adjusts to the ball very well

•Was very reliable all season

•Shown flashes of finishing catches through contact

Cons:

•Body catches a little too much

•Concentration drops and not tucking it right after rarely

•Doesn’t finish through contact consistently

•Not a contested catch threat

Game IQ / Processing

Pros:

•Has a knack for finding windows and soft spots in the zone

•Adjusts his routes really well to get in holes for the QB

Cons:

•Makes his pick routes really obvious and got away with some OPI

•Timing of his routes

Agility / Twitch

Pros:

•Quick feet and twitch

•Agile on his feet

•There is a suddenness to his game

Cons:

•His COD after the catch is definitely lacking

•Doesn’t string cuts together with the ball well

Versatility

Pros:

•Got motioned around a lot

•Got lined up in the backfield at times

•Has two seasons of returning experience in 2022 and 2024

•Even got used in a wildcat set

Cons:

•Limited to the slot and gadget plays at the next level

Run Blocking

Pros:

•Pretty average blocker

•Does a good job just simply getting in the way

•Was used on crack blocks and was decently effective

Cons:

•Doesn’t have the greatest technique

•Would like to see more consistent effort

•Pretty much no chance of blocking a LB

Games Watched:

•Week 4 vs SYR, Week 6 vs BC, Week 8 vs DUKE, Week 12 vs SC

Ideal Situation:

•Antonio Williams is a solid receiver who simply does all the little things right. Williams isn’t necessarily the flashiest receiver in the world, nor will he likely make a SportsCenter-type play, but he will be a very reliable receiver and one any team would benefit from. Williams' route running has a lot of nuance and can make defenders look silly. He tempos his routes extremely well and utilizes head fakes to create separation and manipulate defenders' hips. Williams YAC is above average, but nothing flashy. He can juke defenders on occasion and slip some tackles, but nothing about that side of his game will blow you away. He gets upfield quickly and can rip off some decent chunk yards after the catch. Antonio Williams ran a 4.41 40 time and had a massive vertical at almost 40”, but none of those necessarily stand out on tape. Williams is a reliable target who doesn’t drop the ball often, but he doesn’t finish through contact, and he isn’t a jump-ball threat given his undersized arm length and height. His game IQ is incredible. Williams finds soft spots in zones with ease and has no problem or fear going over the middle of the field. William weaves through traffic very well to reach his destination. He has solid versatility, with kick-return experience, and was moved around in motion a lot. However, I wouldn’t say he has alignment versatility because of his frame. His run blocking is average, but he does a good job simply getting in the way of defenders. Now, let’s get to the more questionable attributes in his game. Williams never really saw physical corners in the ACC, which was surprising. Most of his matchups came against softer drop coverage, so that side of his game is relatively unknown. Williams isn’t really a field stretcher out of the slot, and his acceleration/burst out of his breaks isn’t necessarily amazing either. On occasion, Williams takes too long to get open, or his route running could use refinement. For example, consistently breaking out at 90 degrees or countering more patient physical corners. He has also had a lingering hamstring injury that caused him to miss time in 2025. Williams was selected 71st overall in the 3rd round by the Washington Commanders. In recent seasons, the Commanders have made a big emphasis on bolstering their receiver room. For good reason, as last season it was pretty lackluster for Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota. ESPN currently projects Antonio Williams to be the starting slot receiver. I think he will be the starting slot receiver, but not without competition from Jaylin Lane, whom the Commanders selected in the 4th round last season. Dyami Brown could also offer some competition. I do think Williams is the best receiver in that group, and he will get the most snaps in the 2026 season. Overall, I like Antonio Williams as a prospect, and I think with time and refinement, he could emerge as one of the top slot targets in the NFL.

Rating:

•Route Running – 8.2/10

•RAC / YAC Ability – 7.5/10

•Athleticism / Frame – 7.8/10

•Ball Skills – 7.3/10

•Game IQ / Processing – 8.5/10

•Agility / Twitch – 8.3/10

•Versatility – 8.8/10

•Run Blocking – 6.9/10

Total = 78.5/100 Early 3rd

Combine Testing

Height

6'1"

Weight

187lbs

17thPoor

40-Yard Dash

4.41s

84thVery Good

Vertical

39.5in

87thVery Good

Bench

10reps

Broad Jump

124in

64thAbove Average

Three-Cone

7.00s

45thBelow Average

Shuttle

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DPH Proprietary Scores

Frame Score

Measures a prospect's physical build and size relative to historical NFL positional standards.

DPH Athlete

Diamond Prospects' proprietary athletic score that evaluates a player's overall athletic profile using combine testing and positional percentiles.

Total Score

The combined athletic evaluation generated from Frame Score and DPH Athlete Score.

Combine Year: 2026 • Data from DPH Combine Database

Andrés Griñe

Founder of DiamondProspects and Head NFL Scout View Full Bio

I am an Assistant in Player Personnel/Scouting for Washington State Football with over six years of experience scouting NFL prospects and evaluating talent. I previously covered high school baseball as a writer for NMPreps and now run DiamondProspects, where I publish scouting reports, prospect evaluations, and draft analysis. I am currently a junior pursuing a degree in Sports Management and am originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Comments (1)

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Jandro

New Mexico Lobos

Golden State Warriors

Las Vegas Raiders⭐ Diego Pavia ⭐ Fernando Mendoza 👁️ 📋 ⏱️ ⭐ 📊 🗺️ 👟 ⚡

4 months ago

Crazy how straight line speed doesn’t always translate to game speed. If Daniels gets a go-to slot receiver they could go deep into the playoffs.