Paul Bretl | 5/12/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — With the 250th pick in this year’s NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers selected offensive lineman John Williams out of Cincinnati–a pick that GM Brian Gutekunst was surprised that the team had the opportunity to make.
“We were down there in the seventh round,” Gutekunst said after Day 3 of the draft, “it’s unusual for a guy who can tackle and guard, play four spots for you, to be down there at that spot.”
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Williams started at left tackle for Cincinnati during his final two college seasons. Between Year 1 as a starter and Year 2 in 2024, he saw significant strides made, particularly in pass protection. He went from allowing 14 pressures and two sacks in 2023 to just eight pressures and one sack in 2024. In fact, among all FBS tackles, Williams finished last season ranked fifth in pass-blocking efficiency.
When speaking with reporters after being selected by Green Bay, Williams mentioned that this growth from 2023 to 2024 was “immeasurable,” and he felt like a “completely different player.”
An important part of that development that Williams experienced was thanks to his offensive line coach Nic Cardwell, who implemented NFL-style systems for all of Cincinnati’s pass protections.
“It kind of gave me the confidence to play and be who I could be,” Williams said during rookie minicamp.
The Packers view Williams as someone who can play both tackle and both guard positions. At 6-4 and weighing 322 pounds, he has the size and physicality to work inside, while with nearly 34″ arms and a strong athletic profile, he has the ability to operate in space as well.
“He’s got great length, exceptionally bright,” said Gutekunst of Williams. “Really, really, really smart. He’s got the versatility to play left tackle and guard. He probably could play center because he’s smart enough to, he’s one of the few guys who can really play with full extension with his hands, and is moving his feet at the same time.”
Of Williams’ 1,831 career snaps in college, 1,756 of them came at left tackle. So, whether he sees snaps at guard or right tackle, there is likely to be some level of a learning curve for him.
However, playing those positions won’t be foreign either. Before Williams was a starter at Cincinnati, he would fill in along the offensive line during practices wherever was needed. So there were times in practice when he played guard and even some center.
“A big point for me was just my flexibility,” Williams said of his pre-draft visit to Green Bay. “They want you to play multiple positions, which I think is probably why they picked me, just the ability to hopefully help out wherever I’m needed. I think that’s the biggest upside for me.”
Perhaps what can differentiate Williams from other late-round selections to help him hit the ground running more quickly is that he comes from a college offense that has overlap and, to a degree, functions in a similar capacity to Matt LaFleur’s.
Williams comes to the NFL already somewhat familiar with what the Packers do schematically because his Cincinnati offense watched quite a bit of what Green Bay does.
“A lot,” said Williams when asked how much attention he paid to the Packers in college. “We watched a lot of film at Cincinnati on the Packers just because we kind of have a similar offensive scheme, so we’ve definitely seen a lot of their stuff and was loving it.”
Along with having some familiarity with the offense, as Gutekunst mentioned, Williams is really, really smart. Had football not worked out for him, the aerospace engineer said that he would want to work in the research division of somewhere like Lockheed Martin or SpaceX.
But on the football field, his level of intelligence can help in picking up the playbook more quickly as well as pattern recognition.
“It helps a lot,” Williams said of learning the playbook. “I would say a big part of just intelligence is pattern recognition, which helps a lot in football. Seeing fronts and schemes and understanding what needs to happen. It helps a lot.”
Williams joins a crowded offensive line room for the Packers that includes Rasheed Walker and Jordan Morgan competing for the starting left tackle snaps, second-round pick Anthony Belton, and 2024 sixth-round pick Travis Glover. Like any seventh-round pick, development time is needed, and in the short term, Williams’ presence can provide the Packers’ depth up front with a needed boost, something that was required after how last season ended.
However, for the reasons mentioned, Williams is also uniquely positioned to be in a situation where, a very late Day 3 pick, he can get off to a fast start.