From now until the 2025 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top 10 picks, down to Day 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Minnesota-Duluth offensive lineman Aiden Williams
#71 AIDEN WILLIAMS/OL MINNESOTA DULUTH – 6055, 314 POUNDS. (6th YEAR SENIOR)
Measurements
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| Aiden Williams | 6055/314* | 9 3/8* | 32 1/4* | 79 1/2* |
| 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Dash | Short Shuttle | 3-Cone | |
| 5.17** | 1.75** | 4.63** | 7.58** | |
| Broad Jump | Vertical | Bench Press | ||
| 8’10** | 30** | 27** |
*Shrine Bowl Measurements
** Pro Day Numbers
THE GOOD
– Good size and strength as an offensive tackle with a large upside
– Bends his knees and blocks with leverage, patience, and strength
– Fires his hands into opponents and places them correctly
– Anchors in pass protection well against bull rushes
– Intelligent, picks up the blitz, and fights hard throughout the action
– Keeps his feet moving, stays square, and seals defenders in the run game
– Above average ability getting out to the second level and taking linebackers on
– Head on a swivel, and makes outstanding use of blocking angles
– Controls defenders at the point of attack with well-placed strikes
– Independent and two-hand usage in pass sets
– Nice snatch-trap technique to put guys in the dirt
– Lots of room for growth
THE BAD
– Tends to prematurely open his hips in pass protection when speed-rushers attack his edge, creating a soft outside corner
– Lacks the girth and weight in his lower half to drop an immediate anchor when needed
– Can be late to strike near the top of the quarterback’s drop, leaving his outside hand vulnerable to getting chopped or swiped
– Pads tend to rise in the “drive” portion of angle-drive blocks, giving defenders an opportunity to access his frame and shed him off
– Has middling arm length that can become an issue against certain NFL body types
– Instincts will take time to develop
– Hands cradle rather than crush in tight quarters
– Needs to diversify tempo and punch approach
– Slight lean into contact when throwing his hands
– Average at finding positioning in run game
– Narrow drive base limits push power
– Lack of significant athletic competition
– Only started playing as an offensive lineman for two years
– Will be an older rookie coming into the NFL
BIO
– RS Senior who was born in Anchorage, Alaska
– Played in 40 games in 4 years at Minnesota Duluth
– Split time between tackle and guard
– 2025 Shrine Bowl participant
– 2024 First-Team NSIC All-Conference
– 2023 Second-Team NSIC All-Conference
– 2020 season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic; redshirted in 2019
– 2019 redshirt season
– Majored in mechanical engineering in college
– Two-year starter in HS (tight end, defensive end, long snapper)
– Earned all-state honors as a TE
– Lettered four years in basketball
TAPE BREAKDOWN
Aiden Williams is used to coming from a small school community, proving people wrong about what he can accomplish. From his beginnings in Anchorage, Alaska, to playing for the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, he’s a guy who’s had to become used to and able to change. He started playing football when he was 8 years old and became an all-state tight end in high school. Williams also played defensive end and long snapper but was recruited for his ability to catch the football as a tight end.
He was on the Bulldog roster as a tight end until the 2022-23 season, when the team asked him to switch to playing on the offensive line. He used that season to bulk from 243 lbs. to the following year being 295 lbs. He went on to have two really good and improving years, splitting time between tackle and guard but mostly playing tackle. He showed up at the Shrine Bowl at 314 lbs. and more than held his own there. He’ll have to kick inside to guard with center potential due to his lack of length. His athleticism and power make him an intriguing developmental prospect. Considering how far he’s come in just two years of playing as an offensive lineman, there’s no reason to think he can’t continue to develop and grow as a player. This guy is nowhere near a finished product.
Even though he is just getting used to playing on the offensive line and gaining so much weight, he has retained his plus movement skills. Despite a lack of experience and a small-school background, his traits and rapid growth in body and play caught the eye of Shrine Bowl evaluators. From a skill standpoint, he’s still an undergrad but on pace for his degree in tackle studies.
He has a nice kick slide that shows quickness in pass-protection situations and second-level adjustments to climb. He shows independent hand usage and knows when to time his strikes. Williams can burst out of his stance and take off laterally well for a guy his size. He accelerates with some pop into down blocks and packs a powerful punch at the point of attack with heavy hands overall. His grip strength is strong once he latches onto a defender, and he does a good job of sealing off running lanes for his teammates.
He plays with a high motor and is willing to drive his opponents into the dirt. There is nice flexion in his lower half (knees and ankles) that offers building blocks to his anchoring ability with his natural power. He also displayed good mirroring talent to stay in front of rushers. Williams goes toe-to-toe with this guy for the entire pass-blocking rep, showing great lateral footwork and stamina.
I also really liked his snatch-trap technique, which he utilizes more often than most offensive tackles.
When initiating contact with blockers in the running game, his inside hand is stiff and upward in his punch. Williams has the reactive ability to combat rush counters and can reset when thrown off balance from initial punches.
The concerns are understandable because he has very limited experience as a converted tight end. At the Shrine Bow,l when he gave an interview, he openly acknowledged himself as a guard, and teams viewed him that way as well at the NFL level, with his lack of length being a severe limitation to his blocking upside in space. He played mostly as a tackle at Minnesota Duluth but did have some time playing guard. He will need time to learn the position and acknowledged that he prefers to “fight in a phone booth”. Teams may be hesitant with all of this contextualized in lieu of him being an older prospect (went to college from 2019-2025).
He faces a very steep step up in size and competition. Technically, Williams shows a narrow two-point stance that may need to be altered. He’s a little behind the game in terms of timing and angles when getting to the second level. His body needs additional development and strength to get acclimated to playing at an appropriate size and physicality on the interior at the next level. Push-pull power counters tug him out of balance in his stance. He needs to work on his inconsistent hand work sustaining angle blocks at times.
This also shows up in pass protection, where he will try to swipe guys away quickly without re-engaging his hands. He needs to learn to stay latched better overall. Williams plays with great effort as a run blocker, but coinciding with this is a propensity to lunge and get out over his toes.
He needs to stay balanced on the move better as a run blocker when working stretch plays. He can also duck his head at times, which causes this, too, because he wants to make contact with someone.
Watching him in pass protection, I noticed his footwork is inconsistent, and he is not always patient enough to wait for the rusher. He wants to take the fight to the competition first, which can make him susceptible to counters, and faster guys can shorten the corner on him, but this didn’t happen a lot. He’ll also need to make sure not to keep his hands so wide to open up his chest to rushers and keep his hand carriage a little closer together to use his upper body power to stall guys at the point of attack.
CONCLUSION
Aiden Williams is one of the draft’s more intriguing developmental offensive line prospects due to his athletic profile, power, and newness to playing there. He has grown leaps and bounds since playing tight end and really worked on his pass protection technique in the two years he’s been a starter at tackle. There is still a lot that he needs to learn and improve upon, but he can definitely be a “draft-and-stash” type of player that an offensive line coach would love to work with. He’s very smart, works hard, adapts quickly, has a nasty mentality, and has athletic appeal to show a promising upside of a future payoff. At worst, he could be nice depth on a line.
Ben Bartch is a sensible player comparison for Williams. Both guys are converted tight ends who played tackle in college. Bartch has been more of a guard in the NFL, which I think would be the best use of Williams’ skills as well, with his short-length concerns being negated more and would give him an avenue to play in a more confined space. With a clear need for tackle and guard depth, the Steelers make sense as a team that would be interested in him. Williams has limited tackle experience and played at a small school that lacked elite competition, creating a tough future transition. He’s still growing into his body, but he proved he can hang at the Shrine Bowl with the bigger-school prospects.
He needs time to develop, and Pittsburgh would allow him to do that without a pressing need for a starter, given their investment in the offensive line the past several years in the draft and free agency.
Projection: Late Day 3/UDFA
Depot Draft Grade: 6.4 – Sixth/Seventh Round (End of Roster/Practice Squad)
Games Watched: at Augustana (2024), vs Minnesota State (2024), vs Winona State (2023), vs Bemidji State (2023)
