New York Giants Training Camp Preview: RB Antonio Williams

The Giants' RB1 and RB2 spots seem set. And Antonio Williams is looking to make his case for the RB3 spot.

Author:
Brandon Olsen
Publish date:
Jul 15, 2022 9:08 AM EDT

In this story:

Since the start of his college career, Antonio Williams has been the running back who could consistently contribute when given the opportunity. However, he was always struggling to separate himself from other running backs.

At Ohio State, it was J.K. Dobbins, Curtis Samuel, and Mike Weber that kept Williams from being able to find the field much. After transferring to North Carolina, Williams dealt with the eruption of 2021 NFL Draft picks Javonte Williams and Michael Carter.

Williams finished his college career with just 225 touches from scrimmage but averaged almost six yards per touch and had 11 touchdowns. After going undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft, Williams would sign with the Buffalo Bills, where he would stay until the end of the 2021 season.

Going into the 2022 season, Williams lacks NFL experience with just 13 scrimmage touches but has more experience with New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll from Buffalo.

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Aug 13, 2021; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Buffalo Bills running back Antonio Williams (28) runs after a catch against Detroit Lions defensive end Robert McCray (52) during the fourth quarter at Ford Field. — Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

What He Offers

Williams has been a jack of all trades throughout his football career but a master of none. Williams has both the size and speed to contribute as an inside-out runner, which he showed signs of in 2020 when seven of his 12 carries were between the tackles. In order to get a larger sample size, Williams saw 60% of his carries go between the tackles during his final two years in college.

While he’s no Brandon Jacobs, Williams offers a solid amount of power and physicality as a runner, picking up 698 of his 1,137 college rushing yards (61.4%) after contact. On his 12 carries in 2020, Williams had 63 rushing yards, with 37 (58.7%) coming after contact.

Williams has enough speed to get the job done with the ball in his hands, ripping off three runs of 45+ yards during his final two seasons at North Carolina. Don’t expect Williams to have Saquon Barkley-level explosive plays, but he can quickly eat up chunks.

As a pass-catcher, Williams is yet to show anything that would wow fans, with the huge majority of his college targets coming behind the line of scrimmage and only having one NFL target. Williams isn’t a stiff athlete by any stretch but lacks the quick-twitch ability to consistently create separation as a route-runner.

Perhaps the best part about Williams’ game compared to the rest of the Giants roster is his pass protection. Not only is Williams willing and able in pass protection, but he is also instantly one of the best backfield blockers on the Giants roster, allowing just three pressures on 96 pass-blocking snaps in college.

Williams has never been asked to play special teams as a return man, but he has plenty of experience as a blocker and gunner.

Detroit Lions linebacker Anthony Pittman (57) tackles Buffalo Bills running back Antonio Williams (28) during the second half of the preseason game at Ford Field in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. — Junfu Han via Imagn Content Services, LLC

His Contract

On January 27th, 2022, Williams signed a two-year futures contract with the Giants worth $1.585 million. There was only $10,000 worth of guaranteed money on the contract, so should the Giants decide to release Williams before the season, there would be a dead cap hit of just $10,000. Releasing Williams would clear $700,000 for the Giants this season.

Williams’ contract will only take up .34% of the Giants salary cap space for 2022, making him an inexpensive contract. The low salary number should prevent Williams from becoming a cap casualty just to clear space.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Jake Fromm (4) hands off the ball to running back Antonio Williams (28) during the second half of the preseason game at Ford Field in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. — Junfu Han via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Roster Projection/Expectations

Williams is intriguing as a potential Giant for 2022 given his youth, experience with Brian Daboll, fresh legs, inexpensive contract, and special teams ability. If Williams does make the active roster, he would likely be the third or fourth running back.

Williams will compete with Gary Brightwell, Jashaun Corbin, and Sandro Platzgummer for a spot in the backfield behind Saquon Barkley and Matt Breida. If Corbin, who is younger and has a similar skillset to Williams, has a strong camp, then that could give the Giants the freedom to release Williams.

Williams could be a valuable bottom-of-the-roster player that would give the Giants a worthwhile bang for their buck and, with his experience with Daboll, could find himself in a favorable situation.