What they’re saying about Notre Dame’s Kyren Williams, Kyle Hamilton after NFL Combine
Notre Dame players Kyren Williams and Kyle Hamilton had their respective NFL Combine workout sessions on Friday and Sunday.
Hamilton, a likely top-five selection come April, did not need to do much to secure his name at the top of the draft class. Williams, however, needed to do a little more. Here is how their performances were perceived by the experts.
Kimes calls Hamilton ‘best player in the draft’
ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes had the highest of praises for Hamilton this weekend.
“Kyle Hamilton is the best player in the draft, and maybe more importantly, the best player for this moment in football,” Kimes said on ESPN’s NFL Live. “In response to the explosion in passing over the last decade, defenses are now asking so much of safeties, more disguise, more versatility. Versatility is what this guy has in space.
“He can play deep middle. He can play split safety. He can play in the box. He can play in the slot. He can blitz. He has the size, the range and the ball skills to do all of those things at an elite level.”
As Kimes alluded to, safeties are often not the first players off the board. While Hamilton is unlikely to go first, expect him to go before they hit the double digits.
A safety so early?
Kimes isn’t the only one talking about the negative sentiment toward taking a safety so high. ESPN’s Rich Cimini wrote a piece for ESPN on Sunday about the topic and how the New York Jets are feeling about Hamilton.
Jets head coach Robert Saleh has already indicated he would consider grabbing Hamilton, but how does general manager Joe Douglas feel?
“Speaking to reporters at the scouting combine, the general manager gave the obligatory “best-player-available” answer when asked about picking one in the top 10″ Cimini said. “But know this about Douglas: He subscribes to the premium-position philosophy, one of the reasons why he didn’t meet safety Jamal Adams‘ contract demands and traded him in 2020. Look at his drafts: They pretty much stick to that formula, although he deviated last year with guard Alijah Vera-Tucker at 14 overall.
“The Jets are high on Hamilton, as I’ve previously reported, but it’s too early in the process to say he is (or isn’t) their guy. It could be a fascinating decision.”
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NFL Network recaps Hamilton’s day
NFL experts Rich Eisen and Daniel Jeremiah provided commentary on the NFL Network throughout the combine, and they talked about Hamilton. A lot.
At the end of the day, they recapped his performance.
“I know he’s not going to be happy with his 40 time, at 4.59,” Jeremiah said. “Look, he almost went outside the white. He’s weaving up and down. Once he just gets in a straight line, you’re going to see that time really drop.
“Once he got into the field workout, you can see how fluid he is. For a big safety, he just moves really naturally. It doesn’t look like he’s ever stressed. I know there’s some teams in the top 10 that are hoping ‘Hey, maybe people are going to read into this 40 and he’ll slide down.'”
Jeremiah’s comment was met by a “come on” from Eisen.
“I’m not saying it’s going to happen, I’m saying you’re hoping,” Jeremiah added.
Throughout the broadcast, NFL Network was comparing Hamilton to various NFL stars, including former first-round pick and All-Pro safety Derwin James.
The Draft Network down on Williams
Unfortunately for Williams, The Draft Network was not impressed with his NFL Combine showing. They named him one of the “losers” of the day on Friday.
“A potential day-two pick, Williams was underwhelming—to say the least—throughout the entirety of his workout,” the team wrote. “He was poor in the 40, substandard in the vert, second-class in the broad, and flat-out dreadful in everything he did.”
Thankfully for Williams, he still has a March 25 pro day on the horizon where he will look to turn the tide in his favor ahead of the April draft.
