Riley Williams TE Mississippi State |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
| Jersey: #88 ROLE: Inline Blocking TE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated: 08/03/2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draft Year: 2027 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FORTY time: 4.80 seconds (44%*) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Age: 21.8 DOB: 11/11/2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Jersey: #88 | |
| ROLE: Inline Blocking TE | |
| Last Updated: 08/03/2026 | |
| Draft Year: 2027 | |
| Forty time: 4.80 seconds (44%*) | |
| Age: 21.8 DOB: 11/11/2004 | |
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| Overall Rating: |
68.2 / 100
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| Average rating of opposition Defense player has faced | ||
| Defense Rating: |
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81% |
| Click the links below to view how player ranks vs other prospects. | ||
| QB Rating When targeted: | 104.2 | |
| Hands: |
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38% |
| Short Receiving: |
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52% |
| Intermediate Routes: |
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72% |
| Deep Threat: |
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00% |
| Blocking: |
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53% |
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DRAFT PROJECTION:
UDFA
Overall Rank:
#640
Position rank:
#18 (TE)
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| College Games: 26 College Snaps: 560 | ||
ESPN RATING: 85/100
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247 RATING: 94/100
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RIVALS RATING: 5.9 (97%)
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| Player Comparison* (Similarity level) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Easton Dean - Iowa State |
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48% |
| Jackson Hawes - Georgia Tech |
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47% |
| Dylan Soehner - Texas Tech |
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43% |
Draft Profile: Bio
The No. 4 tight end in the 2023 class per the On3 Industry Ranking, Williams finished his prep career at IMG Academy after beginning at Portland's Central Catholic, then chose Miami over Alabama and Ohio State. As a freshman in 2023 he played 13 games for the Hurricanes, catching eight passes for 72 yards and a touchdown, and across two seasons in Coral Gables he totaled 15 receptions for 187 yards in 21 games.Williams transferred to Oregon State for 2025, but his year lasted just two games. He caught a 15-yard pass against Fresno State in Week 2 before suffering a torn labrum in his shoulder, an injury that ended his season and led the Beavers to rule him out for the rest of the schedule.
In December 2025 Williams entered the transfer portal for a second time and signed with Mississippi State, where he joins the 2026 roster with one year of eligibility remaining.
Scouting Report: Strengths
- Heaviest tight end in the group at 273, a sixth-lineman build with soft-tissue power.
- Former four-star whose Miami signing class pedigree still flags the file.
- Two years of eligibility remain to rebuild value at Mississippi State.
- Inline alignment history fits the blocking-specialist lane the weight suggests.
Scouting Report: Weaknesses
- Torn labrum ended 2025 after two games and a single catch.
- Career receiving tape sits at the bottom of this tight end group.
- Ordinary timed speed at his weight forecloses the flex half of the position.
- One drop on two targets last season; the small samples keep going wrong.
- Three programs in four years without a starting season at any of them.
Scouting Report: Summary
The 2025 season lasted two games, one catch and a torn labrum. Williams arrived at Oregon State by way of Miami, where he signed as a four-star, and his college career has now produced more transfers than touchdowns: three programs in four years, no starting season at any stop, and a medical file that owns the current evaluation. What survives is the build, 273 pounds, the heaviest tight end in the group, with a sixth-lineman silhouette that belongs in short-yardage packages.Everything else comes hard. The career receiving marks sit at the bottom of this group, the ordinary timed speed forecloses flex work entirely, and even the two-target 2025 sample managed to include a drop. A player whose path is pure blocking specialist has not yet put a full season of blocking dominance on film either, which is the one tape that could still change his trajectory.
Mississippi State gives him a fourth program and two years to produce it. The honest projection is undrafted, with a narrow short-yardage and special-teams audition lane if the shoulder heals clean and the run blocking finally matches the mass. Plenty of 270-pound tight ends have built careers on exactly that profile, but every one of them first delivered the dominant blocking season this file is still waiting for.
How other scouting services rate Riley Williams (Overall Rank)
All Scouts AverageOverall Rank
547.5
All Scouts AveragePosition Rank
16.0
*Percentile Ranking in Player's Position Group (NFL Combine Historical Data): This percentile reflects how a player's specific statistics rank
in comparison to historical performances at the NFL Combine, specifically within their position group. A higher percentile indicates a better performance.
For instance, being in the 90th percentile for a particular stat means the player outperformed 90% of their peers in that category.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.