Raiders’ Antonio Brown, Tyrell Williams form distinct combo
NAPA, Calif. — Tyrell Williams carries himself with a calm demeanor, his temperament the sort one might associate less with a dynamic NFL receiver and more an elementary school teacher during story time. No thrills. No bravado. Quietly but judiciously, he flows coolly like water.
Antonio Brown yields fire.
There is a flashiness to him, how he manically works, how he boisterously but good-naturedly has engaged teammates with a pearl-white smile. Little is subtle. Recently, he posted a video to his YouTube channel that appears to capture him paying 1 million euros ($1.1 million U.S. dollars) for a titanium wristwatch.
“Just know your money ain’t like mine,” he said.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr must build chemistry with two elementally different starting wide receivers. And so far, it’s working. Williams took center stage Saturday in the club’s first full-squad practice of training camp, demonstrating a well-developed skill set that prompted the Raiders to sign him in March.
Brown, sidelined with an undisclosed injury that is considered minor, shared a field with Williams this spring.
Carr noticed how the two, despite varied personalities, share key traits.
“If they do something, I can go to them and say, ‘Don’t do that like that; I need it like this,’ ” Carr said Saturday. “Their instant reaction is, ‘No problem. I got you. My bad.’ … It’s not, ‘No, I’m going to do it this way — just throw it.’ It’s none of that. What that does is it opens the communication for both sides. They can come to me and say, ‘Hey, on this route, if you could put it right here, that’d be great.’ …
“We can hold each other accountable, and it’s really cool. The other thing with their temperaments is A.B. doesn’t get enough credit for how he is. He is a little bit like Tyrell, but everyone watches on Instagram and thinks he’s just loud and all of that. Man, that guy just works his tail off. He’ll do anything you ask him to do. He’s a great friend. He’s always great with my kids. My kids have probably thrown him more balls than I have.”
Williams is entering his fifth NFL season.
Developmentally, the former undrafted free agent from Western Oregon has made significant strides.
A bread-and-butter route since early in his professional career has been the “drag.” It enables him to use his straight-line speed at short depth, laterally separating from a cornerback in man coverage or finding space against zone coverage to position himself for a high-percentage target. Upon conversion, he turns upfield and accelerates for a potentially explosive gain.
Coach Jon Gruden knows this. On Saturday, Williams ran and converted one such route against cornerback Gareon Conley. Clockwork.
A recent upgrade in Williams’ game was on display minutes earlier.
During the same 7-on-7 period, Williams sprinted downfield near the left sideline, flashed his hands late at a Carr-spun spiral and completed a contested catch against cornerback Nevin Lawson. The 6-foot-4-inch Williams focused much of his 2018 offseason on increasing his physicality, growing more comfortable against contact and thus widening his catch radius.
This newfound knack for aggression helps build trust with Carr.
Like Brown to fire, there is more to Williams than a modest disposition.
“He has a big personality,” Williams said of Brown. “I’m pretty quiet, so I feel like we fit together well. I’m trying to take as much stuff from his game as well as all the other receivers. Obviously, he’s going to demand a lot of attention (from defenses), so that’s going to open up a lot for me to go win one-on-one.
“I think it’s just going to be good. Hopefully, I can have success here, and it’ll open up more stuff for him, too, and for the whole offense. I think (we’ll) be a good complement for each other.”
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Contact reporter Michael Gehlken at mgehlken@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GehlkenNFL on Twitter
