2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Kyle Williams

Last Updated: 4/16/2025

Career Stats

Summary

Kyle Williams started his college career at UNLV after signing as a 3-star prospect (247 Sports). He stood out from the get-go, earning freshman honors after amassing over 400 yards in just six games. After two more steady seasons, Williams transferred to Washington State, which cultivated back-to-back 800-plus yard seasons. In total, amassing over 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns as a Cougar, his 14 receiving touchdowns this past season were fourth in the NCAA.

Williams stands on a modest 5-foot-11 frame but has a stockier build, giving him adequate size for the next level. He is a manipulator at heart. Right from the start of his route, he deploys deception, displaying a suddenness and quickness to stack defensive backs in press situations. There is still development needed in the physicality department, and expanding the variety of releases. When given off coverage, his tempo is solid, often playing chicken with the defensive back before his break. Once at the top of his stem, he shows strong deceleration skills and re-acceleration skills out of the breaks. At times, we see a lack of consistency in the refinement and technique of his hard-breaking routes, creating inconsistencies when separating against man coverage. On the other hand, he is a menace against zone coverages, where he has a natural knack for finding the soft spots and making himself available for the quarterback.

With his speed being closer to build-up speed than sudden speed he operates best in the mid to deeper portions of the field. This is also where his subtle leverage attacks and impressive soft-breaking routes flourish. Marrying this with impressive ball-tracking ability allows him to test defenses deep regularly. At the catch point, we see reliable hands and a decent catch radius for his size. He, however, does fail to attack the ball with his hands regularly. This hasn’t been a terrible issue thus far, but with lengthier defensive backs at the next level, he will need to be more aggressive. The biggest concern here is in contested situations where he leaves a lot to be desired.

After the catch, Williams is an explosive athlete who can create plenty of yards in open space. We see him display curvilinear acceleration and the vision to navigate through all levels of a defense. Even though he is sudden at times, there is a lack of elusiveness to string moves together or make defenders miss in space. He does power through defenders or outruns them, but the make-you-miss in a phone booth plays are far and few between. Another area of needs improvement is the blocking game, we have seen growth in this area but he is still inconsistent. There is a willingness and aggressive nature when asked to, but his technique is less than stellar.

Strengths

• Fluidity
• Deep area threat
• Ball tracking
• Hands

Weaknesses

• Physicality
• Consistency in the short to intermediate routes
• Attacking the ball

Honors and Awards

• Freshman All-America Second Team (2020)

Athletic Testing

• 40-yard dash: 4.40
• Vertical: 36.5”
• Broad Jump: 129”
• Three-cone: N/A
• Shuttle: N/A
• Bench: N/A

NFL Role Prediction

• Z wide receiver

Fantasy Outlook

Kyle Williams has a huge range of outcomes in his portfolio. Despite consistent production, he is a fifth-year senior who didn’t explode until his final few years in the college ranks. With plenty of room for growth in the intermediate routes, he feels like a player that needs to be a Z player on a roster who already has an alpha. He has Jordan Addison vibes to me, so if he can land in a similar role there is a viable market for him with a high ceiling. On the flip side, he could end up in a spot that asks him to be the guy right away and that could be detrimental as he needs to improve key techniques before he can consistently win as the main guy in a passing attack at the next level.

Player Comparisons

• Jordan Addison
• Jalen McMillan
• Darnell Mooney