See, I told you people I'd start getting into the major sports. Have some patience! At number 23 we have our first football player in Mike Williams the Buccaneers rookie Wide Receiver out of Syracuse University.
Williams shocked most football fans and analysts this season by outperforming all of the other 13 wide receivers taken ahead of him in the draft. He may not have had the most auspicious road to the NFL, but he made up for it and then some with his on-field performance this past season and was a major factor in the Buccaneers turn-around in the NFC south. His off-field troubles, however, have plagued him since his college days and are something he continues to work on.
As a true freshman at Syracuse Williams caught 24 passes with 4 touchdowns in 10 games. He followed that up with a 2nd team All Big East campaign in which he caught 60 passes for 837 yards and 10 touchdowns in 12 games. Following that season Williams was suspended for his junior season due to academic reasons. In the fall of '09 he quit the team with another suspension looming after he and teammates were involved in a car accident. Heading into the draft his stock had clearly taken a bit of a hit. His numbers at the draft combine were good but not eye-popping. Williams isn't the speed burner type that attracts so much attention these days.
Tampa Bay selected Williams at 101 overall in the 4th round. He was the 14th WR to come off the board, behind the likes of Demaryius Thomas, Dez Bryant and Bucs teammate Arrelious Benn just to name a few.
On November 19 Williams was arrested on suspicion of DUI after he failed a field sobriety test. (There's a 23 min long video of the arrest on you tube) However, the charges were not pursued as it was later found that a blood alcohol test showed he was below the legal limit. It is also believed that there was a urine sample that he passed as well. (On a side note this is kind of a relief as I have always been nervous about failing one of those field tests - I don't know if I could do the alphabet backwards very well.) Williams took a lot of initial heat from the media, no doubt due to his troubled past at Syracuse, but hasn't received quite the same recognition for having not actually been driving under the influence.
No matter, Williams continued to tear up the NFL in a way that most rookie WRs do not. It is an old adage that you should stay away from rookie receivers in fantasy, as unlike RB they often take a year or two to adjust. Clearly, this was not the case with Williams as he finished 19th in the NFL in receiving yards and tied for 3rd in the league with 11 receiving scores. Among rookies his numbers were even more eye-popping. He had 334 more receiving yards than the next closest in Jordan Shipley and he was tops in reception average among rookie wide outs with at least 25 snags.
His notable games this season include WK 5 at CIN with 99 yds and a score; WK 8 at Arizona with 105 yds and a score; WK 15 at DET with 96 yds and a score; and key wins in WK 16 and 17 which kept Tampa in the playoff hunt in which he had 2 scores and 1 score respectively.
Just 23 years old, with a good young QB (Josh Freeman) and an improving roster overall, it looks like Mike Williams is headed for big things in the NFL. No doubt he deserves his spot on the Top 25 Under 25 list - and I wouldn't be surprised to see him higher up the list next season.
Needs to work on the rapping though.
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