Cadillac Williams

Williams defied the odds by remaining relevant after suffering two devastating knee injuries that had most questioning whether he’d ever be able to return to the field, let alone produce once doing so. Those injuries have sapped much of his explosiveness, unfortunately, and he’s rarely trusted in goal-line situations, but he enters 2010 as the favorite to start. Still, Williams enters with a ton of injury risk (he’s surpassed 225 carries just once during his five-year career, and that was his rookie season) and will once again be splitting carries with Derrick Ward.

Williams has been limited to only 10 games the last two seasons due to devastating knee injuries suffered in both 2007 and 2008. Though he will be healthy enough to participate in training camp for the 2009 season, Williams may never regain the form he displayed in his strong rookie campaign of 2005. Ernest Graham, Derrick Ward, and Clifton Smith are all currently ahead of Williams on the Buccaneers RB depth chart entering the 20009 season so he may even have to try and latch on with another team to continue his career.

Williams looked as if he was about to return to his rookie form until he suffered a horrific knee injury early in Week 4 and was out for the rest of the year. His rehab reportedly has gone much better than expected; however, there's almost no way he'll be ready at the start of the season. If the Bucs think he might be able to contribute in the second half, he'll be placed on the physically-unable-to-perform list to start the season. Don't commit an active roster spot on Williams to start the year; however, he may be worth a mid-season waiver wire move.

Williams' play last year hardly justified the Cadillac moniker, as he averaged a hideous 3.5 YPC and scored just one touchdown all season. Making matters worse, Williams isn't very active in the passing game and needs work on his receiving skills. He battled back and foot injuries last year, and has yet to prove the ability to play a 16-game slate. Tampa Bay didn't bring in any competition, so the running back job still belongs to Williams. Coach Jon Gruden is a fine offensive mind, but the Bucs offensive line is a major weakness. Even if Williams bounces back this year, his fantasy upside may be limited if he can't improve his reception skills. Last season, Williams received just four goal-line carries, as he was taken out for Mike Alstott in goal line situations; check in August to see if that still holds true in 2007.

Williams wasted no time in validating the opinions of those who thought he was the most talented running back in the 2005 draft. Rushing for 434 yards over his first three NFL games, he seemed poised for a truly spectacular rookie season. Then reality set in and Williams validated the opinions of those who worried he would break down under the strain of being an every-down back. Williams’ main asset is speed; he can accelerate through his cuts and run away from would-be tacklers with ease. Surprisingly for a Tampa Bay team that groomed Warrick Dunn however, Williams was a non-factor in the passing attack despite being a home run threat. It’s an area of his game that needs considerable work. Williams also wasn’t overly effective in the red zone (14.3 percent, 5-for-35) and could lose goal-line carries to Mike Alstott once again. The main concern with Williams though has to be his health. He only missed two games, but spent much of the season at less than 100 percent due to a foot injury. Although Cadillac, at 5-11, 215, is no smaller than LaDainian Tomlinson was coming into the league, Williams never had to carry the starting load by himself at Auburn, so he has no track record of surviving sustained punishment. If he can stay on the field, his production should soar – Williams averaged 120 rushing yards and 4.5 YPC in games where he received 20 or more carries. It’s the staying on the field part that will be tricky.

Ronnie Brown’s teammate at Auburn and the No. 5 overall pick in the draft, Carnell "Cadillac" Williams is a smaller, quicker back, with better cutback ability, good patience and excellent vision. Williams hits the hole hard and has enough power to break tackles at the point of attack, but he’s not a true burner in the open field. At 5-11, 217 pounds, Williams isn’t a bruiser, and given that his freshman and sophomore seasons in college ended with a broken left clavicle and a fractured left leg, respectively, he has some legitimate durability concerns. Williams finds himself in a time-share with Michael Pittman, who came on in the second half of last season. In fact, coach Jon Gruden has been tinkering with using them both out of a two-back set. In any case, look for Williams to split carries with Pittman, who’s also a good receiver and third-down back, early on, but expect Williams, the quicker and more explosive runner, to get the bulk of the carries before long.