Bengals attend LA Tech pro day, reportedly eying Milton Williams early in draft

Geno Atkins’ time with the Cincinnati Bengals is over (for now, at least), and the team still has a pass-rushing need at defensive tackle. Larry Ogunjobi is slated to become the starting 3-technique; they just need someone who can work behind him.

Enter Milton Williams.

A 22-year old native of Crowley, Texas, Williams was a three-year player for Louisiana Tech. He’s flashed on the field many times, but he got everyone’s attention at his pro day.

At 6-3, 284 pounds, Williams put on an absolute clinic in front of about 60 NFL personnel members, including the Cincinnati Bengals. Here are his testing results with percentile rankings for defensive tackles for reference.

• Vertical jump: 39 (99th)
• Broad jump: 121 (97th)
• Bench: 34 (91st)
• 40-yard: 4.62 (99th)
• Short shuttle: 4.25 (97th)
• 3-cone: 6.87 (100th)

Simply put, no one has seen this type of athletic profile since Aaron Donald, and even Donald couldn’t match some of Williams’ numbers.

Not only were the Bengals there to watch, Pro Football Network insider Tony Pauline says that the Bengals defensive line coach (Marion Hobby) was among the handful of coaches to put Williams through d-line drills.

Per Pauline, the Bengals would consider drafting him as early as the third round.

Word leaving the workout was the Bengals will seriously consider Williams at the top of the third round with the 69th selection, which is six picks before the Cowboys pick in round three.

Along with offensive line and wide receiver, the Bengals are most likely to be interested in defensive linemen early in the NFL Draft. Cincinnati have been known to use the third and fourth rounds to build their defensive line, so selecting Williams in the third round would make a ton of sense. However, after his impressive pro day, it’s entirely possible Williams doesn’t even make it to round three.

Whenever Williams is expected to be drafted, expect the Bengals to be interested.