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ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay released his NFL Mock Draft 3.0 on Wednesday, projecting four Alabama players — Quinnen Williams, Jonah Williams, Josh Jacobs and Irv Smith Jr. — to be selected in the first round. Later in the day, McShay commented on Quinnen Williams and Jonah Williams during a media conference call. Here’s a look at what he had to say about Alabama’s potential first-round selection.
Quinnen Williams, DT
Where McShay has him projected: No. 3 to the New York Jets
What McShay said Tuesday: “I look at it in tiers in terms of talent, and I think this year, Nick Bosa and Quinnen Williams are kind of that top elite, elite tier. Then Josh Allen is right behind them basically in his own next tier. I just think there’s a little bit of a difference between the first two and Allen, and so, I realize and recognize that the Jets would prefer, I would think, an edge rusher. It’s been an issue for a while now. But I just had a hard time passing on Quinnen Williams there when you have the opportunity.
"And listen, if Quinnen doesn’t go three to the Jets, he’s going to go, very likely, four to the Raiders. So, to me, it was kind of splitting hairs a little bit, but I went with the better player over what probably would be a slightly bigger need.”
Jonah Williams, OL
Where McShay has him projected: No. 10 to the Denver Broncos
What McShay said Tuesday: “He’s consistent. He’s patient in pass protection. He doesn’t have those long arms, obviously, but he plays with good balance. He’s a natural bender. He’s not a guy that’s lunging a lot or getting off-balanced typically. He went up against (Clemson defensive lineman) Clelin Ferrell, and he had the one play where he got kind of off-balanced and pushed back. But for the most part, I thought he won that one-on-one and did a really good job.
“He comes in with starting experience on both sides as well which is important because not all guys can play both sides. Some guys are just really are more comfortable in their sets kicking back with their left foot versus their right foot. Knowing that he can play both sides is a positive.”
On if Williams can remain at tackle: “Jonah, to me, I think he can play tackle, I really do. It may be right tackle where he played earlier in his career, but I think he can play tackle. There are a lot of guys in the league that have had success. You can do a quick Google search to find them. They’ve had arms that are not ideal, and his arms are 33 and a half, close to 34 -- really if you want to round up, it’s close 34. But it’s 33.6, and typically you want your offensive tackle to have 34-inch arms.
"Now, what’s the difference in less than half of an inch? It’s not huge. It can come into play, it can affect him at certain points, and the reason is you want your offensive tackle to be able to use the long arms to initiate contact before the defensive lineman is able to get into his body. Now, if the defensive lineman has 35- or 36-inch arms, he’s got a better chance of getting into your body before you can get into his. And it helps to take speed rushers and passing wide and all those sorts of things.
“At the end of the day, though, Jonah has played tackle at a high level for three years. He’s played on the right side, finished up on the left side at Alabama. And I think he can play tackle. Maybe it’s on the right. If he wants to move into guard, I think he’d be a great guard, too. So, at the end of the day, I think Jonah Williams — while we beat it to death about the arm length and tackles and all that stuff — there are plenty of examples of guys that have had success in the NFL at a very high level with shorter arms. And I know he wants to play tackle. I know that that was an issue at Alabama. They wanted to move him to center, and he didn’t want to do it. So, at the end of the day, I think he’s going to do everything he can to play that tackle position, and I think he’ll be just fine. I think he’ll be a great guard if wants to move inside.”
