Max Williams: Sophomore Expectations

When the Baltimore Ravens made tight end Maxx Williams their 2015 second round pick the team's intentions were made quite clear.

Baltimore wanted to solidify the position for the long term by infusing young, cheap talent that would contribute immediately.  Now, over a year later the position is more than solidified, but it isn't solely the presence of Williams that is a contributing factor.

Instead, the unexpected emergence of Crockett Gillmore, the addition of vested veteran Benjamin Watson, and the expected return of former starter Dennis Pitta make this tight end group one of the very best in the entire league. Williams figures into the mix quite favorably as a promising prospect, but with so many mouths to feed it's hard to imagine the player having a massive impact.

With that in mind, a realistic expectation for Williams' year two stat line would likely be around 350-400 yards and three or four touchdowns.

This may not seem to reflect the game breaking type of talent Williams is supposed to have, but with the depth at the position already it would be hard to imagine him alone being a focal point of the offense week in and week out.

Still, this would be an improvement on Williams' solid, if unspectacular rookie campaign.  2015 yielded 268 yards and a touchdown on 32 receptions for him, so the aforementioned stat line predicting his sophomore year would be quite the respectable jump.

While it wouldn't be fair to expect a meteoric jump out of Williams from year one to two, a respectable improvement should certainly be in the cards, and would only bolster a tight end group that is currently looking top flight.