The Buffalo Bills may pick ninth overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, but that isn’t stopping them from meeting with players expected to be drafted higher than their draft slot. Josina Anderson reports that the team will meet with elite defensive lineman Quinnen Williams this week on a pre-draft visit.
Williams, 21, had an outstanding sophomore year as a member of a stellar Alabama Crimson Tide defensive unit. He had 71 total tackles in 2018, 19.5 of which went for a loss. He also managed eight sacks in the team’s 15 games. This came after a freshman season where Williams made 20 tackles, 6.5 for a loss, and two sacks while playing in nine games in 2017.
Williams is an explosive athlete, as evidenced by his ridiculously fast 4.83-second forty-yard dash time at the Scouting Combine. That time was good for fifth among all defensive linemen, and is especially amazing considering Williams stands at 6’3” and 303 pounds. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein views Williams as a top-five selection in the draft, comparing him to Washington defensive lineman Jonathan Allen. Zierlein rates Williams as an instant starter and probable Pro Bowl player.
Buffalo is clearly interested in upgrading its interior defensive line in the wake of longtime stalwart Kyle Williams’s retirement. As WGR’s Sal Capaccio tweeted earlier Friday, Williams was the only interior defensive lineman on Buffalo’s roster to be credited with a sack in 2018. Replacing one Williams with another would be a huge win for the Bills in this draft.