Mac
Mcwilliams.
Mac
Mcwilliams.
Central Florida· 5'10"· 191 lb· 4.41s 40
"A five-year college corner whose hands, tackling and 4.41 speed made him a nickel bet the moment teams stopped projecting him outside."Pre-draft read
A compact, physical press corner who plays bigger than 5'10". McWilliams gets hands on receivers at the line, mirrors through the stem and competes at the catch point without panicking. His best reps come in the slot, where the two-way go is neutralized by his short-area quickness and willingness to reroute.
He is also a genuinely willing tackler — 6.5 tackles for loss in his lone UCF season is a nickel blitzing and run-fitting number, not a coverage accident. The limitation is length and long speed on the boundary: 4.41 speed keeps him alive, but he can be stacked by taller X receivers and beaten on the fade he cannot contest.
The Eagles run a Cover-3 dominant system with elements of Cover-1 and Cover-2, emphasizing scheme versatility and leveraging a strong defensive front to create pressure.
Initially a rotational boundary corner with special teams contributions, with the potential to develop into a starting outside corner.
Man-heavy systems that frequently ask their outside corners to press and trail without safety help over the top.
McWilliams' size and speed are well-suited for a zone-heavy scheme where he can read quarterbacks and make plays on the ball.
Philadelphia Eagles CB Mac McWilliams 2024 UCF Highlights
Game film cut-up of Mac McWilliams's Central Florida tape.
Eagles SNAG UCF Cornerback in 5th Round | Is McWilliams the STEAL of the Draft? I UCF Podcast
Game film cut-up of Mac McWilliams's Central Florida tape.
Mac McWilliams | Cornerback
Game film cut-up of Mac McWilliams's Central Florida tape.
Five seasons of college football — four at UAB, one at UCF — produced 132 tackles, 24 pass breakups, two interceptions and 12.5 tackles for loss. The 2023 UAB campaign was the volume year (52 tackles, eight breakups); the 2024 UCF transfer season was the proof-of-level year against Big 12 competition.
He tested well where it mattered for the role: 4.41 in the forty at 5'10", 191 pounds, with the short-area agility that slot defenders live on. Nothing about the athletic profile is a disqualifier; the length is what caps him. The UCF tape also showed a corner comfortable playing forward — screens, flat routes and perimeter runs died on contact rather than after five extra yards, which is how Day 3 defensive backs earn early snaps.
The projection was always nickel first. Teams that run heavy zone-match with a defined star position saw a Day 3 starter candidate. Teams needing outside corner depth saw a backup with special teams value. Philadelphia, which has built its secondary on interchangeable physical corners, took him at 145 with the slot job in mind.
- 01
Press technique
McWilliams displays a physical press technique with real hands at the line of scrimmage.
- 02
Athletic ability
McWilliams has 4.41 speed and slot-caliber short-area quickness for his position.
- 03
Tackling ability
McWilliams is a willing, reliable tackler who fits the run instead of avoiding contact.
- 04
Blitz value
McWilliams shows blitz value from the nickel, logging 6.5 TFL in his UCF season.
- 05
Starting experience
McWilliams brings five years of starting experience across two conferences.
- 01
Physical limitations
Short arms and a 5'10" frame limit him against tall boundary receivers.
- 02
Fade vulnerability
McWilliams can be stacked and beaten on contested fades he cannot physically challenge.
- 03
Takeaway production
McWilliams has only two career interceptions; his hands are disruptive, not takeaway-producing.
- 04
Age and tread
McWilliams is a fifth-year prospect with limited remaining developmental runway and age concerns.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.41sp50
- Vertical
- 34inp50
- Broad jump
- —in
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | UAB | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | UAB | 8 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2022 | UAB | 7 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| 2023 | UAB | 12 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 2024 | UCF | 11 | 32 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Career | — | 42 | 132 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
McWilliams projects to be a reliable, if not spectacular, nickel corner with the potential to contribute immediately on special teams due to his physicality and competitive drive.
McWilliams mirrors Maddox's aggressive press technique and ability to mirror receivers, projecting as a slot corner who can disrupt timing and make plays on the ball.
His floor is a situational defensive back and core special teamer, offering limited snaps on defense but excelling in coverage and pursuit on kicking plays.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Philadelphia has a type, and McWilliams is it: physical, positionally flexible, unbothered by contact, cheap. The Eagles have turned that archetype into starters more than once.
The Day 3 price was fair for what the tape promised — a nickel who can survive on early downs, fit the run and play four phases of special teams while the coverage refinement catches up. The ceiling is not a boundary starter and never was. The question that mattered was whether the slot reps translate against NFL option routes, and that answer arrives in year two and three, not year one.