Meet Savion Williams: Arthur Smith’s Ideal Weapon
After pursuing wide receiver help for more than a year, the Pittsburgh Steelers were finally able to secure their WR1 for the foreseeable future in DK Metcalf. But even after that acquisition, the front office is still searching for additional playmakers in an effort to boost their offensive firepower to help improve an offense that finished 20th in points per drive last season. George Pickens is entering the final year of his rookie deal and with questions about his long-term fate with the franchise, it should come as no surprise that the front office is doing due diligence on this crop of pass catchers. One of the more unique prospects in the entire class is TCU’s Savion Williams, a player that has drawn some comparisons to a certain player already on the roster.
A bit of a late bloomer after a quiet first couple years as a horned frog, he saved his best season for last: amassing 933 yards from scrimmage and a dozen touchdowns in 2024. That drew the attention of scouts and the Steelers top decision makers, who decided to bring in the 6-foot-4, 222 pound explosive play generator for a top-30 visit to the facility on March 14th. These meetings are certainly worth paying attention to because five of their selections in the 2024 NFL Draft took a visit prior to draft weekend. After meeting with him informally at the NFL Combine and sending receivers coach Zach Azzanni to the Big-12 Pro Day, it’s very evident that they’re doing their homework. With that in mind, it’s worth detailing what Williams would bring to the table in the Steel City.
For starters, Savion Williams looks like he was built in a lab with movement skills that are increasingly rare for a player with his size. He plays much faster than his 4.48 40-yard dash time indicates, with good burst off the ball and the ability to get on top of corners for deep shots down the sideline. His catch radius is absurd due to his near 81-inch wingspan and impressive leaping ability, which led to him coming down with a whopping 75% of his contested catch chances in college. His offensive coordinator made a conscious effort to get him touches in a myriad of ways and it doesn’t take long to figure out why that was the case. Williams has a quick transition from catch phase to runner and can turn routine plays into splash plays. In addition to featuring him on screens, they also aligned him in the backfield as a running back which showcased his rare blend of explosiveness, power and elusiveness.
Throughout the process, he’s drawn comparisons to Cordarrelle Patterson, a similarly built playmaker who entered the league as a receiver but morphed into a more of a multi-faced contributor in the pros. While that is certainly fair, there’s more than enough to his game right now to avoid typecasting him into a gadget role. That starts with his reps versus press coverage. Williams has developed a legit, varied release plan when corners try to crowd his space at the line of scrimmage and he’s pretty consistent at using his hands to wipe defenders hands off his frame. The other reason for optimism in this regard is how quickly he can get in and out of his breaks. For a bigger guy, he’s able to decelerate, sink his hips and work back to the ball. His explosiveness out of the break allows for ample separation as a route runner as well.
So, why is this freak athlete not widely accepted as a first, or even second round selection? Well, there are some frustrating elements to his game, but most concerning one is his hands. He’s just not very natural when it comes to catching the football and that’s sort of a big deal for this position. There are untimely attempts when he tries to catch it with his body, double catches that hit the turf and concentration drops that all led to a career 10.4% drop rate, per PFF. While he’s awesome above the rim, he was inconsistent when asked to adjust for off-target throws (to be fair, there were far too many of these). For a player of his stature, you wish he would be more physically imposing playing through contact during the route stem as he allowed smaller guys to hang on him on occasion. Similar things could be said about his blocking, which was below average in terms of sustaining blocks at the point of attack. His route tree was pretty limited but like other aspects of his game, there needs to be more consistency and attention to detail in this regard.
From there, the question shifts to where to value a player like this and I landed on an early-third round grade, which ironically falls into a cluster of receivers in this range on my board. The spectacular catches above the rim, particularly in the red zone are reminiscent of a 1990s power forward and the run after catch ability is pretty rare stuff, too. With dedication to his craft, it’s easy to tell yourself a story that his hands will improve with time on task but his lack of natural feel for the position is a bit worrisome. Even though Williams will be an older rookie, it’s worth making note of the fact that he was a former quarterback in high school and hasn’t been in this role for very long. He’s touted as a “boom or bust” prospect but his floor is higher than the general consensus gives him credit for. Even if he doesn’t hit his ceiling on the boundary, he’s dynamite with the ball in his hands to the point where you could potentially give him a shot as a true running back, while also allowing him to return kicks for you.
Regardless of what happens with Pickens in the coming months, Williams will be under heavy consideration if he slides all the way to the 83rd pick in the third round. The value matches up very well and I’m confident that once Arthur Smith pops on his tape, he’ll be fantasizing about all the different ways he could incorporate him into the offense.