John
Williams.
John
Williams.
Cincinnati· 6'4"· 322 lb
"Fifty-two games at Cincinnati produced only 27 starts, but the last 24 came in a row at left tackle, and Green Bay spent its final pick on the two-year version rather than the five-year one."Pre-draft read
Williams is a developmental swing blocker who finished his Cincinnati career as a 24-game starter at left tackle and projects inside to guard in the NFL. He plays with light feet and easy lateral movement, gets out of his stance cleanly on reach blocks, and looks most natural in a zone run game where he can climb and work angles rather than dig a defender out on an island.
The tools show up in space more than at the point of attack. He is a smooth mover who can pull and hit a linebacker, and he competes with his hands in protection, but he plays high and his anchor gives ground against power. The signature is versatility: five years in one program, reps at both tackle spots, and a frame the Packers saw as guard material.
An outside-zone and wide-zone run game paired with quick-game protections — a Green Bay or Shanahan-tree offense that asks interior linemen to reach, climb and cut off rather than to displace bodies straight ahead.
Year 1 (functionally 2026): interior developmental backup and jumbo-package body while the tackle-to-guard conversion takes hold. Ceiling: a starting zone-scheme guard who gets by on feet and angles rather than power.
A gap-and-power run game that asks him to base-block a nose tackle and generate movement in short yardage — his high pad level and soft anchor turn those reps into a stalemate or worse.
The reason Green Bay was the right landing spot is scheme: his college tape is almost entirely reach and climb blocking, which is what this offense runs.
John Williams 2025 NFL Draft Tape | Cincinnati OL
Full pre-draft tape of his final Big 12 season at left tackle.
Remix: John Williams | 2025 NFL Draft
Packers-produced highlight package released after the pick.
Green Bay Packers Draft - John Williams - OT - Cincinnati
Draft-night breakdown of the tackle-to-guard projection.
Williams is a length-and-movement offensive lineman whose evaluation was about projection rather than production. He arrived at Cincinnati in 2020, waited his turn behind a College Football Playoff line, and only became a full-time starter as a junior — which means the tape teams graded is essentially two seasons deep.
The context matters. He appeared in 52 career games with 27 starts, played mostly right tackle in reserve duty in 2021 and 2022, then started all 24 games at left tackle across 2023 and 2024 as Cincinnati transitioned into the Big 12. That last stretch is the real body of work, and it showed a mover who handled speed off the edge but struggled to hold his ground when rushers converted speed into power. The flags were consistent: pad level, anchor, and a limited sample of high-level reps.
He earned a Combine invitation, which put him on the map, but nobody projected him as an NFL tackle. Green Bay took him with pick 250 — the last selection they made — as a bet on the feet and the frame surviving a move inside to guard.
- 01
Foot quickness
Moves well laterally for a 320-pound frame and can mirror in short areas, which is what made a tackle-to-guard projection reasonable in the first place.
- 02
Zone-scheme fit
Gets out of his stance cleanly on reach and climb blocks and is comfortable working to the second level, the exact skill set Green Bay's run game asks for.
- 03
Two years of left tackle reps
Started 24 consecutive games at the toughest spot on the line, facing Big 12 edge rushers weekly in his final season.
- 04
Frame to add inside
Carried his college weight up to 322 pounds as a pro without losing movement, giving him the mass to survive guard collisions.
- 05
Program continuity
Spent five years in one system and waited behind a Playoff offensive line, a background that scouts read as patience and coachability.
- 01
Anchor
Plays too tall and gives ground when edge rushers convert speed to power, the main reason evaluators moved him inside rather than leaving him at tackle.
- 02
Limited starting sample
Only 27 starts in 52 games, with the meaningful tape confined to his junior and senior seasons.
- 03
Positional projection
Never took meaningful guard snaps in college, so the whole NFL plan rests on a move he had not actually made.
- 04
Durability
Back surgery wiped out his entire rookie season, a serious early setback for a lineman whose value depends on being available and adaptable.
| Yr | Team | G |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Cincinnati | 4 |
| 2021 | Cincinnati | 12 |
| 2022 | Cincinnati | 12 |
| 2023 | Cincinnati | 12 |
| 2024 | Cincinnati | 12 |
| Career | — | 52 |
Offensive linemen have no box-score production; games and starts only. Games by season come from the Sports Reference game log (4+12+12+12+12 = 52) and match the 52 career games listed by Cincinnati and the Packers. Career starts (27) and the 24 consecutive left-tackle starts across 2023-24 are confirmed by both the school bio and the Packers roster page; the remaining three starts fall somewhere in 2021-22 and are not published by season, so those years are left unlisted rather than filled with a guessed number. No pressure or sack-allowed totals are individually verified, so none are listed.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Big, athletic swing lineman who lives on the back half of the roster and gets spot starts when injuries hit.
Aspirational only: the Green Bay version of a college tackle who converted inside and became a legitimate starter.
Practice-squad developmental body who never converts the traits into a stable game-day role.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Green Bay signed him on May 2, 2025, and the rookie year never started. The Packers placed him on the physically unable to perform list on July 18 after back surgery, kept him there through the season, designated him for return on December 17 and formally activated him off injured reserve on February 15, 2026. He did not play a snap as a rookie — a lost year for a seventh-round pick whose entire case was developmental reps at a new position.
The 2026 offseason has been more encouraging. He was a full participant in the spring program, is listed as a 322-pound guard rather than a tackle, and enters camp inside a rebuilt Green Bay front where Jordan Morgan took over the blind side and the interior depth is young and unsettled. That is opportunity, not a job. The evaluation has not changed since the draft: light feet, a high pad level, and a body of work that was always going to require patience. He is simply a year behind where the plan started.
Data note: Offensive linemen have no box-score production; games and starts only. Games by season come from the Sports Reference game log (4+12+12+12+12 = 52) and match the 52 career games listed by Cincinnati and the Packers. Career starts (27) and the 24 consecutive left-tackle starts across 2023-24 are confirmed by both the school bio and the Packers roster page; the remaining three starts fall somewhere in 2021-22 and are not published by season, so those years are left unlisted rather than filled with a guessed number. No pressure or sack-allowed totals are individually verified, so none are listed.