Free agency starts in a little under a week, and the Baltimore Ravens are making decisions on which free agents should be brought back and which free agents should be allowed to walk. Because of that, so are we.
Today, we’re looking at tight end Maxx Williams.
It was a big surprise that Williams even made the team in 2018. Fans and pundits expected that the 2015 draft pick was on his way out when the team took Hayden Hurst and Mark Andrews in the draft last year. But he made the roster and was able to make some contributions on offense. Williams served as a blocker and occasional pass catcher. His role on the offense was a limited one, but he can still provide depth for the Ravens or for whatever team decides to pay him.
Let’s take a deeper look at Williams’ 2018 season so that we can scope out what his potential might be and what money he could make this offseason.
2018 review:
Williams played in 13 games for Baltimore, with six starts. Williams only caught 16 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown; his biggest value came as a run blocker, with Pro Football Focus grading him as the seventh-best run blocker in the NFL in 2018.
Williams played 374 (31.4 percent) of all snaps. That’s 15th-most among Ravens offensive players and the third-most out of all of the Ravens tight ends.
Williams was obviously more useful when Lamar Jackson became the starting quarterback and Baltimore switched to a more run-heavy offense that called for him to serve as a blocker. While he was still limited as a receiver, he averaged a career-high 8.9 yards per reception on the occasions when he did catch a pass. That indicates he can, at the very least, be useful as a dump-off option.
Potential:
Williams has likely grown into the player that he’s going to be for the Ravens. It’s unlikely that in his fifth season he’ll suddenly turn into the receiving mismatch Baltimore was hoping for when the team traded up to draft him. He’s a run-blocking tight end who will occasionally be able to make a play in the passing game but has issues staying healthy.
Williams will turn 25 in April, so a team will still be able to get something out of him on offense — provided he can avoid the types of injuries that have plagued him earlier in his career. But he’s likely not going to be viewed as a top tight end on any roster.
Value:
Williams will be an unrestricted free agent, which means that any team will be able to sign him away from the Ravens once free agency begins. But realistically speaking, there isn’t going to be much of a market for a tight end that doesn’t add much to the passing game.
Fellow tight end Nick Boyle’s new contract with Baltimore pretty much means Williams is going to hit free agency. On the flip side, it further thins out an already thin tight end free agent group, which could help Williams. However, Williams isn’t going to get paid like Travis Kelce or Zach Ertz. He’s going to make a modest sum on a short-term deal — potentially even a one-year, prove-it deal.
A good comparison for Williams would be Luke Willson’s contract with the Detroit Lions that paid him $2.1 million in 2018.
Chance to re-sign:
The Ravens are likely out on Williams after re-signing Boyle. At this point, Williams is an underrated blocker but not much of a receiving threat, which hurts his value in free agency. But another team could feel he still has plenty left in the tank and could develop further.
I’d put it at a 5 percent chance the Ravens re-sign Williams with Hurst, Andrews and Boyle already on the roster.
