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Ask Farrell: Should Greedy Williams be the first CB taken?

CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

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When it comes to cornerbacks in the NFL Draft, LSU’s Greedy Williams had been the odds-on favorite to be the first one picked.

But then questions started to come up.

The former three-star prospect from Shreveport (La.) Calvary Academy has tremendous length, athleticism and coverage skills. He ran a 4.37-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. He had eight interceptions (six in his redshirt freshman season) at LSU. He’s really, really talented.

But Williams - measured at 6-foot-2 and 185 - pounds is not phenomenal in run support. And some who analyzed his film became less and less impressed as this past season went on.

“Greedy is a tough one because I think he’s the most naturally-gifted cover corner in this class,” ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said. “He’s long, speed is obvious, he’s got fluid hips, he can turn and run and cover basically anyone in the country.

“The problem is I don’t know if he lost focus late in the season but the tape didn’t get better as the season progressed. If you’re a team that’s expecting your cornerback to support the run, it’s a little concerning. You have to be convinced you can get him to tackle and support the run more. Otherwise, he’d be a top-10 pick, that’s how naturally gifted he is.

“Could he go in the first half of the first round? Sure. And I can see a team that’s looking for a man-to-man cover corner to take away that guy. But if he doesn’t, it’s going to be because of the inconsistency and run support.”

In previous months, Williams was regularly atop the cornerback lists and mock drafts. But now Washington’s Byron Murphy, Georgia’s Deandre Baker and Temple's Rock Ya-Sin have popped up more regularly in the No. 1 spot.

We ask Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell if he thinks Williams should be the first cornerback drafted later this week or has Murphy, Baker or someone else surpassed him at the position.

FARRELL'S TAKE

“I still think you have to take Greedy at No 1, he’s just too talented. He’s tall, he’s long and he can run and close and his ability to come up and tackle will develop in the NFL because he’s a very competitive kid. If you tell him he can’t do something, he’ll work hard to improve it. I think he goes in the second half of the first round. He’s too talented to pass on and everyone knows how much I love Murphy. Greedy still has to be the No 1 guy.”

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