It was a 1-2 punch of off field character/arrest issues (which I can get into) and then a bombed pro day (which I can also get into). There's no reason to complicate it more than that. Especially as we've seen quotes from anonymous GMs saying it straight up, that you can deal with one of those two things, but not both things. That anonymous GM still imagined that Preston would be taken in the mid-rounds, but said that his team will stay away. Thing is, pretty much all 32 general managers ended up thinking exactly that: they were sure SOMEONE will draft him in the mid-rounds because he's that talented, but they each decided they couldn't afford it to be their team.
From a character standpoint, he's shown 'issues' at multiple stages of his career, going back to high school when I believe he was kicked off of an SEC recruiting trip because he had already committed to Tennessee, was secretly trying to convince other kids on the recruiting trip to come with him to Tennessee, and got caught smoking or carrying marijuana on top of it all. So he was a kid, acting like a kid. Pretty boss move, if you ask me, but nobody did.
At Tennessee he got a late start because of two things. One, he tore his ACL during his senior year of high school. Two, there was an issue with his ACT and he had to do a late re-take in order to qualify for the season. By the time all that got straightened out, he was behind a bit, and so there wasn't going to be much impact from him as a freshman. Although it's worth noting that he did get out there during the Western Carolina game and catch 3 balls for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns, leaving a pretty strong impression on everyone around Tennessee about what sort of young talent they've got in the hopper developing.
Where I'm not really clear is what happened in 2016, his second year, when you'd often expect a premium NFL talent (if a guy is destined to be that) ascend a little and start making a big impact on the offense. He didn't play much. He caught 9 balls for 89 yards. And at the end of the year...he transferred. Now, I know that the Vols reputation during this particular period of time under Butch Jones was spotty, and he was by no means the only guy to abandon ship (e.g. Jalen Hurd). Probably lots of he-said/he-said going on with that year, all the way around with multiple players and coaches.
Anyway, come transfer time, Colorado State stood out to him because Mike Bobo was their head coach. He had been recruiting Preston Williams when he was in high school, and Bobo was the OC of Georgia. In fact, when Preston tore his ACL as a senior in high school (which is beyond the recruiting window, he was already committed to Tennessee), it was Mike Bobo sitting with him at his bedside checking up on how he was doing. That relationship mattered when it came time to transfer.
But he had to sit out a year at Colorado State due to NCAA rules. During that year he had a girlfriend, they lived together, and at some point they got in a fight about her moving out, and he physically restrained her during the fight. Police got involved, as they should. She got a protective order, as she should. But he was later found in violation of the protective order because he and her continued to text. I don't know if those texts were one-sided or not, but he did have 200+ texts to her and the protective order made it clear that he can't do that. In court, they threw everything away except one charge and I think he got probation, counseling, etc. Eventually he was able to play and obviously he had a great season. He's kept his nose clean since.
So that's the background and the baggage. Since then his Instagram feed and everything public about him is a constant barrage of him training, caring about football. He's been training with Brandon Marshall in the gym and on the field, and that's just something he would naturally want to do because he seems like he's always going the extra mile.
So anyway, he had this insanely productive year at Colorado State where his "catch" reel could be mistaken for a highlight reel because everything he did was really impressive. He goes out to his pro day and had a poor day. His lasered forty time was something like a 4.61 (more on that in a second). The sticker-number on his vertical (more on that in a second) was a ridiculous 31.5 inches. His broad jump was 9'8". I didn't really feel like the other numbers were all that meaningful one way or another, but those were the ones that mattered.
Thing is, you have to look deeper than the forty time. His "flying 20," which is the laser-to-laser measurement from his 20 yard split to the 40 yard split, taken as a measure of a player's top speed, was in absolutely ludicrous territory for a man that is over 6'4" tall. The only player I've seen in the last five years that was that tall (or taller) and that purely fast at the top end was Dorial Green-Beckham, long regarded to be an absolute freak of a kid, and who got drafted high despite being a "three route" guy, and despite having his own arrest history.
And as for the vertical, one key note that shouldn't be lost is that he had to do the thing six or more times because he kept having his jumps disqualified. Why? He's a one-foot jumper. The NFL measures these things off two flat feet. NBA scouting has long accepted the differentiation between one-foot and two-foot jumpers, and taken account of it in their scouting of players, their interpretation of different measurements. Preston Williams was a state champion long jumper and triple jumper back in high school (both one-foot jumps). And in a state like Georgia, I mean it's not like being a state champion in Vermont or South Dakota (no offense to anyone from there). Preston's high school coach has talked about him having a 40+ inch vertical.
Honestly, based on the history, Preston Williams's jump athleticism is the LAST thing anyone should be doubting, and I don't care what happens at one little pro day. And based on the film, his long speed at 6'4" height is another thing that should be one of the last things you question about him, because it's all right there. He presses players deep, and his height helps that endeavor.
But alas, sometimes we get into this narrow mindset, "what are the numbers?" and we don't look deeper, look for context, look for glaring inconsistencies, injuries, or circumstances.
I think this is a physically gifted player with a rare combination of height and top-end speed that was an every-game highlight reel at Colorado State. A guy who bested C.J. Henderson of Florida, who could very well be the #1 corner in the 2020 draft class. A guy who ran a variety of routes in Mike Bobo's offense, executing switch releases and route combinations he will be asked to execute in the pros, being anything but a "three route" guy. A guy who fits into this offense as the immediate backup to Devante Parker's role in the passing game (which will look similar to what you've seen in New England with guys like Josh Gordon, Chris Hogan, Brandon LaFell, etc).
There's a discrete, high usage role for a player like that in this offense, which is why you saw all these headlines about Devante Parker looking so good in spring ball. Not to mention, tall receivers have always been favorites of Ryan Fitzpatrick. Another reason the Parker headlines were unsurprising. It could be that Parker is in for a dynamite year. But he could also let us down at some point, as has been his pattern. If he does that, I would look to Preston Williams to be the guy who steps in and fills those shoes, and that could mean a great start to his young UDFA career.
