Mike Williams is beginning to look the part
By Travis Wakeman
After fears that injuries would prevent him from living up to his potential, the word “bust” was tossed around often with Los Angeles Chargers’ wide receiver Mike Williams.
The criticism was easy to make.
The team didn’t need to take him in the first round of last year’s draft. That move looked much worse after he missed time right away due to a back injury.
Williams came into the league with injury concerns after a neck injury while at Clemson put his entire career in jeopardy. Then there was a mild herniated disc to start his NFL career and a knee injury later in his rookie season.
He finished the year with 11 receptions for 95 yards. That’s not exactly what you want out of your first-round pick.
But Williams is beginning to turn things around. I’ve been as harsh as anyone has toward the second-year pro, but you’d have to be awfully stubborn to say he hasn’t begun to sway their opinion.
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This, his first camp with the team, was a productive one. He’s played well in the preseason as well. His touchdown catch this past Saturday night, in which he went over a Seattle Seahawks defender to bring the ball in, is a play fans have been waiting to see.
Rejuvenated and 100 percent healthy, Williams looks like he could be the player on the Chargers’ offense that defenses have the most difficult time matching up with this season. If you were going to pick a breakout player for the Bolts this year, it should almost unanimously be the big wide receiver.
Eric D. Williams of ESPN agrees.
So maybe Williams isn’t going to be a bust. Maybe he won’t be another Craig “Buster” Davis. Maybe, just maybe, it was too quick to rush to that judgement.
Based off his performance thus far this summer, that certainly seems to be the case.