Mike Williams has his first practice in a Chargers jersey
The Los Angeles Chargers held their rookie mini-camp this weekend and welcomed the seventh pick of the draft, former Clemson football receiver Mike Williams, who signed a four year $19.7 million contract on Thursday.
Mike Williams got his deal done, made it to camp, and the Chargers were probably happy to avoid a repeat of the circumstances of 2016, when top pick Joey Bosa held out. Ironically, Williams and Bosa share the same agency, but he was ready to roll. He talked to the media about getting the contract done on Thursday. “That was real important. I just wanted to come out here and don’t miss no days and just enjoy with my teammates.” He was also aware of the speculations that he might be a “no show” based solely on his representation. “Yeah, I know a lot of people was saying that maybe, maybe, my agency was going to hold it out or something like that, he said. “I got a great deal. I’m happy with it, now it’s time to play football.
Williams and former Clemson teammate Artavis Scott both got to participate in their first professional practice. Scott’s road will be harder as a free agent especially since he still has to make the team, but Williams has a roster spot. So how was his first day in a Chargers uniform? “It felt good. I was looking forward to this day ever since I got drafted. It was good to get out there with those guys, learn the system, go out there and run a few routes. It was good.”
As with most rookies, Williams knows that he will have to adjust to a different offensive scheme, terminology, and plays. When asked what will be the biggest challenge for him?
"That’s probably it. Just the plays. You know you just got to study a lot. Just coming from a system at Clemson. We were a spread offense and you know the plays were a lot different, so I mean just learning the plays, get the playbook down is probably the biggest transition. But it’s gonna be easy with the studying that I’m doing."
Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn also talked to the media after the first day of camp and of course, the first player that he was asked about was Williams. What did he think about his first pick’s first day? “I thought Mike was fine. He’s learning like everybody else. He’s moving well. Caught a couple of balls.”
One of the quarterbacks that Williams worked with in camp was Eli Jenkins from Jacksonville State. Lynn thought Williams and Jenkins worked fine together on Friday, but it was only day one.
“Mike showed up. He caught the ball well and ran good routes.” After a few words about Jenkins, Lynn reiterated his comments from earlier in the interview, “Like I say, the real test comes when we get to training camp and the preseason. Then we can get real evaluations.”
Mike Williams and Artavis Scott getting warmed up at @Chargers rookie mini camp. #WRU #ClemsonNFL pic.twitter.com/qTALElskQ6
— #ClemsonNFL (@ClemsonPros) May 14, 2017
Williams might be getting acclimated to being a Charger and studying his playbook, but he still has one big adjustment left. What number will he wear? Number seven has been good to the seventh overall draft pick, and he hates to switch numbers, but they must part ways. Per the guidelines of the NFL, receivers can only wear 80s and after they are all taken, then numbers 10-19 can be worn. Right now, he has no idea what his number will be or when he will make a choice. He said, “I’m not sure. The numbers that were available-I didn’t want those. I’m waiting out my options right now until the end of camp to see what opens up. As for what he prefers, “Anything from 10 to 19. I can’t do 80s that’s just me personally.”
Scott has 82 and 83 is available. The only other numbers that are not taken are 14, 18 and 19.
Williams will get his number, embrace his new team, teammates, and surroundings soon enough.
Camp started on Friday and ended on Mother’s Day, so the former Clemson football star wasn’t able to see his mom back in South Carolina. But even with so much going on, he didn’t forget to send her a special message on his special weekend.
❤️❤️from @darealmike_dub pic.twitter.com/dNeQh0bZyi
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) May 14, 2017
The Los Angeles Chargers will hold training camp starting in late July at the Jack Hammet Sports Complex in Costa Mesa.