Roy Williams

That the Cowboys traded up in the first round for Dez Bryant is a good indication team owner Jerry Jones has accepted his folly in dealing for Williams. Williams averaged just 6.9 yards on his 86 targets despite 15.7 yards per catch, thanks to a meager 44 percent catch rate. Williams has all the physical tools a receiver could want — he’s 6-3, 211, with excellent speed, good quickness for his size and the athleticism to go up over defenders when the ball is in the air. But his inconsistent focus (eight drops) and nagging injuries have kept Williams from remotely living up to his potential. Williams did see significant work near the goal line — 10 targets inside the 10 (tied for 7th) and six targets inside the five (tied for 4th) — and managed seven touchdowns as a result. But with Miles Austin emerging as a bona fide star, Bryant now in the fold and Jason Witten commanding looks at tight end, Williams needs to right the ship in a hurry if he wants to remain relevant.

The Cowboys gave up an awful lot (first, third and sixth-round picks, $20 million guaranteed) for 19 catches, 198 yards and one touchdown last year. But with Terrell Owens gone and his status as Tony Romo’s No. 1 wideout secure, Williams has a good chance to balance the books. There’s not much point in looking at Williams’ numbers from a year ago – he never did fit into the Cowboys offense after coming over midseason. And to make matters worse, Tony Romo’s three-game absence with a hand injury coincided with Williams’ arrival. Looking at Williams’ previous body of work – while setting aside nine games missed to various injuries over four seasons – the flashes of top-shelf ability are apparent. In 2006, his one full season of health, he was one of the more explosive players in the league, averaging 16 yards per catch and 8.7 yards per target. At 6-3, 211, Williams has ideal size to go with blazing speed and good leaping ability. He’s also quick for a big receiver and difficult to bring down in the open field. It remains to be seen how offensive coordinator Jason Garrett will use him – Terrell Owens was not used all that much in the red zone the last couple seasons (at least relative to his skill set), so between bruising short-yardage back Marion Barber and top pass-catching tight-end Jason Witten, we wouldn’t expect an inordinate amount of red-zone and goal-line targets for Williams. We do expect Romo to target Williams down the field, though Miles Austin, who re-signed with the team in April, will also see work on deeper routes. At press time, Williams had a clean bill of health, and according to GM/owner Jerry Jones, Williams’ work ethic has been outstanding this offseason.

There's little doubt Williams is one of the most talented receivers in the league. But in four years in Detroit, Williams has managed just one 1,000-yard season and has never scored more than eight touchdowns. In fact, Williams has averaged just six scores his last two seasons. Of course, some of that has to do with injuries – Williams has missed nine games in his four seasons, four of them in 2007 when he suffered a sprained PCL. But even before the injury, he was averaging just 13.3 yards per catch and eight yards per target, decent but unimpressive numbers for a receiver of his physical ability. At 6-2, 220 and with blazing speed, Williams can blow by defensive backs, and his ball-tracking skills and vertical leap allow him to soar over them on underthrown passes. He's a solid route runner with good quickness and a load to bring down after the catch. Despite playing on a team that had trouble protecting its passer (54 sacks allowed) and missing four games outright, Williams managed four catches of 40 yards or more, the same amount as Braylon Edwards and Chad Johnson. Williams’ situation is up in the air heading into 2008 for a number of reasons. First, there were the rumors the Lions were shopping him on Draft Day and the possibility he winds up somewhere else before the season starts. Second, Calvin Johnson is now in his second year and reportedly over the back injury that slowed him for much of his rookie season. Assuming Williams sticks around, it remains to be seen how the goalline looks will be distributed. And finally, former offensive line coach Jim Colletto has replaced Mike Martz at offensive coordinator, so the team's run/pass distribution, especially inside the red zone, is a mystery at press time.

Last season we wrote: With offensive guru Mike Martz now calling plays in Detroit, the improvement in quarterbacking and Williams entering his third season, all the ingredients for a major breakout are in place and we wouldn’t be surprised if Williams were a top-5 receiver on next year’s board. Well, we were close – but we’ll have to settle for top-10, and you could make a case for top-5 – compare Williams’ numbers to Chad Johnson’s. They’re almost identical, except that Johnson caught 57 percent of the targets thrown his way while Williams caught 54. Chalk that up to who was playing quarterback. Williams was the eighth-most targeted wideout in the league, and his 16 yards per catch and 8.7 yards per look saw him finished tied for third in the league in receiving yards. Like Johnson, Williams didn’t see a ton of red-zone work – his 14 targets there were less than the 16 by his teammate Mike Furrey – and he had just one ball thrown his way at the goal line. Which explains the modest touchdown totals. At 6-2, 212, with good hands and excellent speed, Williams is a terrific athlete, able to overpower defenders in traffic, and blaze by them in the open field. He has terrific leaping ability, you would think his red-zone and goal-line looks could increase in 2007, though the Lions drafted perhaps the only receiver in the NFL more athletically gifted than Williams in the lightning fast, 6-5, 235-pound Calvin Johnson. And Furrey, a favorite of Martz and a guy who knows the offense, is also in the mix.

There’s not much doubt about Williams’ talent, at 6-2, 212, with good hands and excellent speed, he’s one of the most physically gifted players at the position, able to outmuscle defenders in traffic, and run by them after the catch. But Williams has had trouble staying healthy, missing several games in each of his first two seasons due to ankle and quad injuries. Williams has also suffered from the Lions poor quarterbacking, and while Jon Kitna and or Josh McCown should be an upgrade over a dreadfully ineffective Joey Harrington, neither will be mistaken for Tom Brady. Williams has tended to lose focus on occasion, dropping eight passes (tied for fourth) last year despite missing the better part of five games and catching just 48 percent of the 94 balls thrown his way. Williams was targeted just 11 times in the red zone in 2005, catching three for scores, but given the ineptness of the Lions offense and the reduced sample size, we’re not inclined to read much into that. With offensive guru Mike Martz now calling plays in Detroit, the improvement in quarterbacking and Williams entering his third season, all the ingredients for a major breakout are in place and we wouldn’t be surprised if Williams were a top-5 receiver on next year’s board.

Williams came out of the gate fast during his rookie season, compiling 17 catches for 277 yards and four scores in his first three NFL games before a sprained left ankle in Week 4 derailed him. Williams missed just two games, but the injury nagged him for much of the season, depriving him of his explosiveness and cutting ability. At 6-2, 212 pounds, Williams has excellent size, speed and leaping ability. Williams is also dangerous after the catch given his quickness, change of direction skills and ability to outrun defenders. Williams’ size also makes him a dangerous red-zone target – he converted 6-of-19 passes into touchdowns from inside the 20. This season, it will be interesting to see how the Lions spread the ball around between Williams, Charles Rogers and rookie talent Mike Williams, as well as whether Joey Harrington can mature as a quarterback in his fourth year. Williams had surgery in February to clean up his left ankle but is expected to be 100 percent healthy for training camp.

The hard-working, talented and blazingly fast former Longhorn will be an excellent fantasy receiver and has an upside higher than Rogers. But he’ll be behind the curve in ’04, as he’ll have to make the difficult adjustment from the primitive Texas passing offense to coach Steve Mariucci’s West Coast attack.