Prospect Profile: Jesse Williams, DL, Alabama Crimson Tide

It's no secret that even before the release of Chris Canty the New York Giants defensive line had a sub-par performance in the 2012 NFL season in both run defense and pass defense. The Giants will be in the market to improve their defense and one place that could use a definite upgrade is the middle of their defense to help stop the run game, that's why we're going to use today's 2013 NFL Draft prospect profile take a look at a powerful run-stopping option for the Giants in the first two rounds.

Jesse Williams of the Alabama Crimson Tide is a native Australian who played football for club teams in Australia before attending junior college in Arizona and then eventually Alabama. Williams' strengths and weaknesses are pretty straight forward.

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Pros

With very good size at 6-foot-3, 320 pounds, Williams has excelled as a space eater and run-stopper for the Crimson Tide playing both defensive end and nose tackle in their 3-4 defense. Williams plays with good leverage and has great functional strength. Williams is coachable and has improved his play in terms of his recognition, and technique, but he still has a lot of room for improvement.

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Cons

Williams is primarily a run stopper and while he has some upside as a pass rusher he doesn't possess great athleticism to be a consistently good pass rusher. Seems to wear down more throughout the game and could use better conditioning.

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Player comparison: Sione Puha (NFL.com and mockingthedraft.com), Vince Wilfork (CBSsports.com)

Does He Fit With The Giants?

His ideal position might be as a 3-4 DE or nose tackle but as a two-down run stopper Williams would certainly help the Giants.

Prospect Video

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Big Board Rankings

CBS Sports-36th

National Football Post-13th

Mocking the Draft-9th

Sports Illustrated-38th

Big Blue View Board-41st

Final Thought

I think Williams value depends on what you're looking for out of a prospect. He has intriguing strength (reportedly could bench press 600 pounds, though he did "only" 30 reps of 225 pounds at the combine). I think Williams is a pretty safe player because he has good size/strength and will always be a guy who at the very least can eat up blockers. Whether you think Williams is Sione Puha or Vince Wilfork depends on whether or not you think he's a top prospect or just a solid prospect. I'm more on the side of a solid prospect and a potential target for the Giants if they are looking to stop the run game.

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