Derek Williams Jr. S Texas |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Scouting Report: Weaknesses

• Returning from a torn knee ligament that diminished his 2025
• Played only 204 snaps in a reduced role
• Recorded no consistent coverage production on the year
• Cover skills in man is below average against quicker targets
• Surrendered scores on a small number of targets

Scouting Report: Summary

Williams is a long, fast safety whose 2025 was a reduced post-injury return, a defender with 74-inch length and good timed speed who snared an interception against Arkansas and competes downhill near the line. He has prior starting experience from before a torn knee ligament, and the size-and-speed combination is the projectable trait base. The length, the speed, and the pre-injury reps are the foundation, even with the recent tape limited.

The injury and the production are the concerns. He is returning from a torn knee ligament that diminished his 2025, played only 204 snaps in a reduced role, and did not record consistent coverage production. His labors to mirror quicker separators against quicker targets, and he surrendered scores on a small number of targets. He is a traits-and-medical evaluation whose recent body of work is thin and whose coverage has to rebound.

The wager is on the length, the speed, and a healthy bounce-back, a developmental safety whose grade depends on the knee and the coverage returning to form, with a withdrawal from the portal keeping him at Texas. The reduced role and the modest coverage keep the grade low. He grades as a priority-free-agent type whose path runs through deep coverage and special teams, pending a clean medical.