The Cincinnati Bengals selected Jonah Williams with the No. 11 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Former Alabama football offensive tackle, Jonah Williams became the No. 11 pick in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Williams was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Williams was the first offensive lineman chosen in the first round of the 2019 Draft.
About half an inch in arm length caused some NFL experts to question if Williams could play tackle at the next level. Reportedly, some teams only considered Jonah as a guard. The measurement causing some team’s pause was thirty-three and five-eighths inches. Thirty-four to thirty-six inches is considered an acceptable range for NFL tackles.
The website, Profootball.focus strongly disagreed with concerns over the length of Jonah’s arms.
"Williams is not only the best offensive tackle in the 2019 NFL Draft, but he’s also the fourth-best player in this year’s class."
Jonah Williams earned an unusual reputation in Tuscaloosa for what he did off the field. Jonah knew something about breaking down video before becoming a college player. He also liked doing it. The amount of time Jonah spent in video sessions is legendary. Former Crimson Tide assistant, now Oregon head coach, Mario Cristobal called Jonah
"a football addict, (and) I mean that in a good way."
Another way to describe Williams is he is a perfectionist. Not only did he drill deep into the skills and patterns of opponents, but he also regularly reviewed his own video. From the extensive video reviews, he built detailed spreadsheets and determined goals for practice sessions.
The level of detail was extraordinary. Williams explained how he applied what he learned from the video sessions to a plan for each opponent.
"I can have a different approach to a move a guy does 60 percent of the time, but I’m not even really going to prepare for it that much if it never wins. But then if he does a move five times but has a 100 percent win percentage, I better be ready for it. He’s going to bring it for me. I better be prepared for it."
Not unlike a poker game, Jonah learns any ‘tells’ exhibited by an opposing defensive lineman. Looking for those visual clues is not unusual for a college player, Jonah just takes the approach further than almost anyone else. He is quite willing to be considered a perfectionist. His already established work habits will make for a quick transition to a professional player environment.
Jonah became the second first-round pick for former Crimson Tiders in the 2019 Draft. Standby for more to come.