re: PFF : SEC's 5 best defensive players through 5 weeks

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NFL Hot Press
Alabama DT Quinnen Williams Projected as a High First-Rounder Updated Oct. 5, 2018

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Sources at multiple teams, including one general manager, feel that Williams will grade out as a high first-round pick if he is able to stay consistent with his early-season performance. Williams grading out as a high first-rounder could put him on a par with Houston's Ed Oliver and Auburn's Derrick Brown as the top interior defensive line prospects for the 2019 NFL Draft. Some team sources think Williams is better than Brown and have him higher, while a couple of others preferred Brown because he's bigger and could have more versatility in terms of the techniques he could play in the NFL. Both Brown and Williams are viewed as having huge upside for the NFL, as they are still very young players who are just scratching the surface of what they are capable of doing on a football field.

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Sources say they are hearing out of Alabama that the redshirt sophomore Williams plans on filing paperwork with the NFL Draft Advisory Board for the 2019 NFL Draft. If Williams hears a high first-round projection, he could easily enter the 2019 NFL Draft, and that is what many NFL evaluators think is likely. Most redshirt sophomores return to school, but every year, there are a few who skip their final two years of eligibility to attempt to move on to the NFL.

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