As I said in my C.J. Beathard post yesterday, only one game of preseason has been played, so we can’t really jump to conclusions, but it’s worth noting the performance of the running backs.
Jerick McKinnon couldn’t get anything done, but we aren’t focusing on that, no, it’s Joe Williams I wanted to bring up. Williams was stashed on IR last year after an underwhealming preseason and was having some flashes at camp. Then Thursday night’s preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys and beyond a one-yard touchdown, he didn’t do much of anything. Eight carries for 11 yards, one touchdown. That’s Williams’ evening.
You could argue he got outplayed by Jeremy McNichols. I would say Raheem Mostert definitely outplayed Williams despite not notching a touchdown, just one small problem:
Mostert fumbled.
And a fumble, even in the singular, is something coaches hate. Williams had three in 2017 and was trying the patience of the coaching staff. One from a veteran like Mostert, who is fighting for a roster spot against Williams isn’t going to help his stock.
The question now is what the coaches are going to be looking at. There’s a lot of things they look at, touchdowns maybe, but fumbles are always under the microscope. Given that Williams’s 1-yard touchdown was marred in snaps where he was bottled up and a 1.4 YPC, maybe he’s not clean of this as well.
It’s only preseason, so Mostert has time to show the fumble was a fluke and Williams has time to turn things around, but take away Mostert’s fumble and it looks like Williams failed to show much of anything.
Where are you on the Mostert/Williams training camp battle?