2018 NFL Draft: Falcons to work out Louisville RB Malik Williams

It’s April, and the Atlanta Falcons are going to ramp up their draft scouting to make sure they know who’s who once the big weekend rolls around toward the end of the month.

According to NFL insider Aaron Wilson, the team is continuing to look at the upcoming crop of running backs.

Williams looks to be a busy bee with draft weekend approaching. He had a decent last year with the Cardinals, posting up 531 yards and four touchdowns rushing and 136 yards receiving, though we should note he suffered a rough wrist injury that put him out for some of October, one folks didn’t think he’d be back for 2017 after.

He’s tall at 6’3,” though there doesn’t seem to be any sort of combine or pro day numbers available for him. This piece details his recent pro day, and it mentions he thinks he could go as high as the fifth round, which is telling. He sounds versatile, which is always a boon in this organization, and appears to be a late-round prospect, and in Atlanta, would assuredly compete for Terron Ward’s spot on the roster if that is indeed now vacated.

Watching a couple of his clips, you can tell the size and power he brings to the run game, though he’s not overtly fast. He’s a little bit like a bigger, slower Tevin Coleman, to be honest, as he gathers speed and momentum if he can get some space to run in. He looks like he could be a pretty good blocker, too, but who’s to say?

The Falcons have scouted a handful of 2018 running back prospects, most notably Georgia RB Nick Chubb, though that feels like a courtesy or due diligence for a “what if?” scenario at best. They’ll likely continue to do some research in the back half of the prospect class, which could indicate they’re leaning to add a running back with one of their latter picks (they’ve got a sixth and two sevenths at the moment, though that could change via trade).

For now, we’ll mark Williams as an interesting potential RB3, and share his highlights below.