Will DJ Williams get any snaps?

Seems a longshot, but Reiss doesn't have him inactive in his projection. Could give them a look they haven't had since the scumbag left.

There have been a few tight ends who have been plug and plays in recent years - think Dan Gronkowski, Hooman, and so on. Williams would have to be very lucky to have even a Michael Hoomanawanui impact.

primetime said:

There have been a few tight ends who have been plug and plays in recent years - think Dan Gronkowski, Hooman, and so on. Williams would have to be very lucky to have even a Michael Hoomanawanui impact.

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Yes, but Hooman has had some impact (cause there's no one else). Give them a different look on a couple plays, even if the ball goes elsewhere. Of course he'd need to have had a damn good week of practice.

RayClay said:

Seems a longshot, but Reiss doesn't have him inactive in his projection. Could give them a look they haven't had since the scumbag left.

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I want to go on record and say I think the DJ Williams signing is brilliant and this is going to be remembered as one of the greatest steals of the Belichick era.

D.J. Williams, DS #6 TE, Arkansas:
• Combine Invite: Yes
• Height: 6021
• Weight: 245
• 40 Yrd Dash: 4.59
• 20 Yrd Dash: 2.62
• 10 Yrd Dash: 1.62
• 225 Lb. Bench Reps: 20
• Vertical Jump: 33 1/2
• Broad Jump: 09'03"
• 20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.51
• 3-Cone Drill: 7.29

Aaron Hernandez, Inmate #174594, Bristol County HOC:
• Dates: 03/17/10
• Height: 6023
• Weight: 245
• 40 Yrd Dash: 4.64
• 20 Yrd Dash: 2.71
• 10 Yrd Dash: 1.65
• 225 Lb. Bench Reps: 30
• Vertical Jump: 33
• Broad Jump: 09'03"
• 20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.18
• 3-Cone Drill: 6.83

Hernandez was stronger and faster laterally but Williams appears to be slightly more explosive vertically. I know athletic measurements aren’t the best way to determine a player however Williams was very productive with 152 receptions and 1,855 receiving yards during his time at Arkansas. Williams stock was on the rise prior to the draft and many thought he was going to be one of the steals I am not sure what has transpired but I am very excited to have him here and believe he is going to surprise some people :rocker:

I am not sure if he will be active tomorrow however, they may give him 1-2 more weeks to pick up the offense, I think he might have been more of an early futures signing on some level, I see him as someone they want to develop for the future.

primetime said:

There have been a few tight ends who have been plug and plays in recent years - think Dan Gronkowski, Hooman, and so on. Williams would have to be very lucky to have even a Michael Hoomanawanui impact.

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You should do some reading on the kid he is actually a very interesting prospect, I think this is going to play out to be a very good signing by Belichick. It may not be this week but this is the type of player that can be developed and excel in that flex tight end role, he has the skill set.

He got cut by the Jaguars and has 9 catches in three seasons. If you're expecting anything at all, you're expecting way too much.

He might get a snap or two if the game's a blow-out. Other than that, I can't see any way this guy's going to have any impact.

primetime said:

He got cut by the Jaguars and has 9 catches in three seasons.

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At the beginning of this thread I wasnt even aware there was a DJ williams on the pats, right about here is where I realized I don't care that there is a DJ williams on the pats.

Danny Woodhead only got 15 touches before the Pats got him, I'm hopeful for Williams.

I know little about DJ Williams but I'm assuming he has some blocking skill. If that is the case and considering, I believe, Houston has shown it can be run on, I'd expect him to get some snaps as a blocker.
If the Patriots need to throw a lot to win I'd expect his snaps to be extremely limited.

TheBostonStraggler said:

I know little about DJ Williams but I'm assuming he has some blocking skill. If that is the case and considering, I believe, Houston has shown it can be run on, I'd expect him to get some snaps as a blocker.
If the Patriots need to throw a lot to win I'd expect his snaps to be extremely limited.

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He is actually a pass catching tight end who fits into that flex tight end, he didn’t see the field much in Green Bay before being waived and picked up by the Jags who waived him at which time we put in a claim for him. He is a interesting pickup that could pay off long term. Williams played all 4 seasons at college with Ryan Mallett at Arkansas.

Why do I have no idea who DJ Williams is?

Brady6 said:

He is actually a pass catching tight end who fits into that flex tight end, he didn’t see the field much in Green Bay before being waived and picked up by the Jags who waived him at which time we put in a claim for him. He is a interesting pickup that could pay off long term. Williams played all 4 seasons at college with Ryan Mallett at Arkansas.

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Thanks for the info, correcting my blind assumption he is more of a blocking TE.

My guess on his snaps remains the same though. Even with him having pass catching skills, he's brand new to the team with only a few days of practice. My guess is this puts him too far behind the curve for this week's game. However, if he does end up seeing the field for some pass plays? I hope that's a good sign that the coaches liked what they saw from him......

Brady6 said:

He is actually a pass catching tight end who fits into that flex tight end, he didn’t see the field much in Green Bay before being waived and picked up by the Jags who waived him at which time we put in a claim for him. He is a interesting pickup that could pay off long term. Williams played all 4 seasons at college with Ryan Mallett at Arkansas.

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If he makes it with the team, then he should be called The Nail

Did someone actually compare production in the jaguars offense to what he could do in our offense ....LOL......

Pretty sure he isn't part of a lot of packages as he just got here. Most likely he would start out in the jumbo or short yardage package as a 3rd TE after Gronk and Mulligan.

Maybe he'd get a target in the red zone too. Play action and sneak him out into the flat against a LB.

If I had to guess, 10 snaps.

I will be more interested to see if they have Josh Boyce active given that Aaron Dobson is out. He's been back on kickoff returns a few times this year. Not much as a wideout. He can get deep.

If he appears at all on the field today, it will be for blocking duties. I would be very surprised to see any passes going his way.

I don't have high expectations for him but I can't believe how quickly some people are dismissing him. He's got some credentials, winning the John Mackey Award as the top college TE in 2010.

And according to Wikipedia, he won the Disney Spirit award for most inspirational college player. I have no idea what that is, but probably means he's not likely to execute somebody.

The 2011 draft actually has several slow starts for TEs. Kyle Rudolph, the top TE picked, only had 26 receptions in 15 games his rookie season. The third TE drafted, Rob Housler, only had 12 catches in 12 games as a rookie before establishing himself.

Jordan Cameron had 6 catches in 8 games as a rookie, and 20 more in his second season before catching 59 passes (so far) this season. Julius Thomas had only 1 catch in 9 games his first two seasons combined before becoming a huge part of the league's top offense this season with 45 catches.

I'm not saying he's going to be a 30-40 catch guy for us or anything, just that every year, we see players who either needed a change of scenery or coaching staff or system or whatever suddenly become much more successful.

Williams might not last longer than a week, but I wouldn't write off anyone so quickly. I didn't have any different hopes for a late-round pick cut twice that we picked up, but Chris Jones has worked out pretty damn well for us. He'll be given a chance to find a role, the rest is up to him.

primetime said:

He got cut by the Jaguars and has 9 catches in three seasons. If you're expecting anything at all, you're expecting way too much.

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Means nothing, my grandma had 10 catches and she didn't even make the Jags' 53 man roster. With Gabbart throwing, would you really expect more production out of this guy?

primetime said:

He got cut by the Jaguars and has 9 catches in three seasons. If you're expecting anything at all, you're expecting way too much.

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I am sure people said similar things about Rob Ninkovich, Danny Woodhead and many others over the years. In my opinion the thing that Belichick does better than any other GM/Coach in the history of the NFL is identify players that have not been productive prior to getting here and developing them into very good NFL players.

Am I certain this will be the case with DJ Williams? No, but I can say the young man has the talent and makeup to fit into that flex tight end position, he may never be Aaron Hernandez but he could give us some of the things Hernandez did. If you look at the offense with players like Gronkowski, Vereen, Dobson, Thompkins, Edelman, Amendola and hopefully in time Boyce if we could find a player to give 65%-75% of the capabilities that Hernandez offered in that role I think we would be in excellent shape. DJ Williams may or may not be able to be that guy but I think it was a brilliant move to bring him in and give it a shot either way.