The 2024 NFL Draft is several months away with college football kicking off in September, but it’s never too early to start looking at some of the top names in this year’s upcoming draft class. We will have our Summer Scouting series kicking off here in the next couple of weeks on the site, highlighting several prospects at positions of need for the Steelers prior to the start of the college football season.
One of those positions of need is strong safety as the Steelers need to find a long-term replacement for Terrell Edmunds, who signed with the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason. The team did go out and bring in Keanu Neal as a free agent, but Neal has dealt with numerous injuries throughout his NFL career and may not be the team’s answer at the position for years to come after his short two-year contract is up.
There are several notable safety prospects in this draft class, but Miami S James Williams sticks out as a prospect who would fill multiple needs in Pittsburgh as a potential long-term solution at strong safety alongside Minkah Fitzpatrick. Williams is a junior who possesses impressive size and length (6’5, 215lb) for the position, having a long, lengthy frame to cover a lot of ground as well as mix it up near the LOS. He is a four-star prospect out of powerhouse American Heritage in Fort Lauderdale, FL, choosing the Hurricanes over several other notable schools including Alabama, Georgia, and LSU.
As you can see in the video above, Williams has the play style of a strong safety who thrives in the box, being that safety/linebacker hybrid who can blitz, run, and hit. He is an aggressive tackler who can knife through the offensive line and make tackles in the backfield while also chasing down backs in pursuit. He has the skill set to be a team’s dime backer in sub packages, having the skill set to play the run as well as the movement skills to cover backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Williams has played in 21 games with 17 starts in his first two seasons with the Hurricanes and has logged 89 total stops (1.5 TFLs), three INTs, eight PBUs, two fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble. Given Pittsburgh’s need for a prototypical strong safety who can run, hit, and cover as well as more candidates to fill the dime backer role, Williams would be a great fit. He could be that long-term enforcer over the middle of the field and close to the box while Fitzpatrick roams the backend, making plays on the football. Williams has the size and length to match up with TEs like Mark Andrews in the division, having that rare body type at the position that scouts drool over.
Williams figures to get drafted within the first three rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft as we sit here today with another season yet to come from the Miami safety. While Neal is signed through the 2024 season, drafting Williams would give Pittsburgh another chess piece in the secondary that can help at safety as well as linebacker in sub packages. Coming in behind Neal would allow Williams to develop until he is ready to become the full-time starter, mixing in on different defensive packages and on special teams until he assumes that bigger role.
Steelers fans should tune into Miami’s first game of the season Sept. 1 against Miami of Ohio to catch Williams in action, getting a taste for a player I foresee Pittsburgh having a fair amount of interest in this coming draft cycle.
