Third-round receiver could push Packers creativity on offense

Mike Spofford

GREEN BAY The moment the Packers' third-round selection of receiverSavion Williamsbecame official, cameras caught his rather intense, emotional reaction as he was surrounded by family and friends on the second night of the draft.

Pulling his phone away from his ear, Williams stood up, pumped his fist and hollered, "We goin' to Green Bay!" An eruption of cheers around him followed.

Turns out, not just any team could've prompted that reaction from Williams. While he certainly would've been excited whenever, and by whomever, he was picked, there was a little more to it.

"So that whole week before the draft everybody was always asking me, 'If there was one team you could get picked by, who would you want to get picked by?' I told them it would be Green Bay," Williams said during last weekend's rookie minicamp.

"That's where I want and to go and shoot, just seeing the area code number pop up and then just grinning the whole time "

Williams, taken with pick No. 87 overall, had watched plenty of quarterback Aaron Rodgers when he was younger, and his pre-draft visit to Green Bay confirmed it would be the right kind of place for him.

A native of Marshall, Texas, with a population just over 24,000, Williams said Green Bay "felt like home," and now it is.

"I'm from a small town and this (has) small-town type vibe," he said. "So just being around here and seeing how tight the town was and hearing how fans are and everything I like that type."

The Packers haven't really had this type of player in their offense a 6-4, 220-pound weapon who caught 60 passes and ran the ball 51 times, scoring 12 total touchdowns, in his final season at TCU.

The expansion of his game was reminiscent of how he closed out his high school career, moving from receiver to quarterback out of necessity for his team. He called it "natural" to play with the ball in his hands, and the more he produced in college, the more different ways the Horned Frogs' coaches got him the ball.

Bubble screens, handoffs, wildcat quarterback, you name it Williams even threw a TD pass last season and claimed to have the best arm of anyone at TCU.

"Oh yeah," he said. "For sure."

He won't have to worry about that in Green Bay withJordan Loveunder center, and he did get a text from his new quarterback after getting drafted. Ultimately, he wants to be a reliable weapon for Love, and while the power in his game and the ability to break tackles should be evident from the get-go, the nuances of the receiver position could take some time.

Both General Manager Brian Gutkeunst and Head Coach Matt LaFleur commented after the draft that Williams is still raw as a route runner, and he'll be entering a competitive receiver room loaded with young talent continuing to come into its own.

"Whatever they learned as a rookie, that's what I'm looking forward to," Williams said of his new receiving mates. "Just learning."

He's plenty willing. He explained he made his varied usage as a college player work by studying the playbook thoroughly, and that'll be required in the NFL, too, with the added task of picking up the finer points of the pro game along with the responsibilities for each play as they're drawn up.

LaFleur stressed that it's up to the offensive coaches to use their creativity to maximize Williams' abilities, and he's such a different type of receiver compared to speedy first-round pick Matthew Golden that they should complement each other well.

That'll hopefully come in due time. For now, Williams is thrilled he landed exactly where he wanted to. He's confident the rest will turn out just fine as well.

"Knowing I'm in Green Bay," he said, "was just a dream."