DT Prospect Dan Williams Visits Chargers

It’s nice to see that we are picking up a ton of steam heading in to the draft. Today we got a visit from University of Tennessee standout defensive lineman, Dan Williams, who might just be our future stud nose tackle.

With our former star DT Jamal Williams off in Denver, we need a long term replacement, and that’s what we would get with Dan Williams. Hell, he would fit well in a lot of defenses. He has some weight problems to address, but it’s not too out of control. He tips the scales at 327 pounds on his 6’2″ frame. However, he justified his weight at the combine by bench pressing 225 pounds 31 times. That’s pretty scary.

He may not have the speed to bust the play on the backside. Decent initial burst but cant maintain that speed (but lets face is, he’s too big to expect that from him) and has been known to take a few plays off every now and then. His endurance would have been a deal breaker if he didn’t perform so well at the combine. More of a run stuffer than a pass rusher, really. He is still pretty useful. His size and strength demand a ton of attention from opposing offensive lines. Williams, in all honesty, is practically impossible to block one-on-one. He is just far too large. He will demand the attention of at least a couple of blockers on every play.

I have to admit, in spite of the speculation that used to surround him, I always loved how downright nasty he can be in the trenches. His immense upper and body strength can bull rush a pocket shut if left one-on-one or if he beats the double team. It’s always nice to have an interior dominator like him.

If Williams can keep his weight concerns at a minimum, he will be picked high because he is one hell of an athlete when he gives his all. Any team would be lucky to have him around. For us, he would be a great all around nose tackle to eat up double teams and stop the run. I distinctly remember us having an, at times, abysmal run defense. Especially after our aging superstar nose guard got injured. The Chargers will continue to seek out long term solutions to our offensive and defensive vacancies in the draft.

The biggest question will probably be, are we taking a running back or a nose tackle with our first round pick? Honestly, it all depends on who is on the board at the time, but the Charlie Whitehurst trade we just pulled off gave us a high pick in the second round. If we play our picks right then we may have struck draft gold with our third string QB. Don’t you just love that?

Things are heating up in San Diego. We are in position to be major players in this years draft. If the suspense doesn’t kill me, the excitement just might.