JT Tuimoloau

[CJD]

(02-28-2025, 08:51 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: In a brief NFL radio interview with Jim and Pat, Williams mentioned that his lack of production this season was likely due to playing through injury. He said that he felt like he was only about 60% this year. I don't know if that's the truth, or just a creative excuse for the lack of production. One would think that a program like UGA would have a healthy next-up ready to go, so that he could get the time to heal up.

I think it's an excuse. He's played 1200 defensive snaps over 3 years. Him being partially injured for 400 of them does not explain his inability to rush the passer over the course of his entire career.

In my opinion, with very few exceptions, you should draft players based on what you see them do in college. You don't draft players hoping they become a completely different player in the NFL when the competition is exponentially more difficult.

You can draft players based on what they have done hoping that you can improve them even further. But you should not draft a player to do something that you've seen with your eyes they do not know how to do.

It reminds me of some sage advice I was given when I got married. "Love her for who she is, because going into a marriage hoping to change your spouse usually ends in divorce. It doesn't mean things about her won't change or improve, but you cannot expect them to happen just because you want them to."

If you want a pass rusher, draft a person who has shown they can rush the passer. If you want a run stopper, draft a person who has shown they can stop the run.

There will occasionally be players who, after 3 or 4 years in college where they don't fulfill their potential, are drafted and get matched up with a coach that just makes things click for them in a way it never has. But drafting a player (especially with a top 50 pick) and expecting that will often end in a bust.

The problem is every coach thinks they're that coach that can turn on the light bulb. "Drafting based on athletic potential alone" is a dangerous drug that every coach has to taste once. We did it with Myles Murphy. I hope we've learned our lesson.