Philadelphia Eagles Find Godsend in Obscure 5th-Round Draft Pick

Calvin Williams arrived here in early August, an obscure fifth-round draft pick who was several days late and three deep on the Philadelphia Eagles’ training camp depth chart.

A month later, Williams is a godsend for quarterback Randall Cunningham’s go-short pass offense.

Here is a wide receiver with sprinter’s speed, exacting routes and a big heart. This is what the Eagles were lacking after All-Pro Mike Quick was forced out of action in Week 7 last year with recurring knee problems.

And that’s why Coach Buddy Ryan went overboard on receivers in last April’s draft, taking a total of four -- two before Williams, one after.

Now, going into Monday night’s prime time preseason game in Indianapolis, Williams, a product of Purdue University, has been christened a starter along with Quick.

“He’ll be our starting wing, there’s no question in my mind, when we open the season,” Ryan said this week.

Williams’ meteoric rise from middle-round draft choice to opening-day starter -- assuming Ryan doesn’t change his mind -- was assisted by a number of fortuitous training camp developments. Second-round draft pick Mike Bellamy of Illinois is currently backing up Quick at split end. Third-rounder Fred Barnett of Arkansas State hasn’t run a play in camp yet because of a thigh injury. Eleventh-rounder Tyrone Watson of Tennessee State hurt his cause with several dropped passes. And, most surprising of all, veteran flanker Cris Carter suddenly finds himself in the Eagles’ doghouse.

Despite starting 33 of the Eagles’ last 34 games and catching 11 touchdown passes last season, Carter is not even assured of making the team, Ryan suggested the other day. What bothers the Eagles is Carter’s lack of productivity outside the opponents’ 20-yard line and his reluctance to go into traffic across the middle.

So for now, Williams, 23, starts ahead of the four-year veteran and walks gingerly around the subject.

“Cris is a proven receiver,” Williams said. “They know what he can do. They want to see what I can do.”

The early impressions all have been good.

Listen to Cunningham, the quarterback: “He brings us speed. He brings us the same instincts Mike Quick has. He brings me confidence. ... Calvin is a very, very talented receiver. I think he could have been a first-round draft pick.”

Listen to Lew Carpenter, the team’s receivers coach: “When you draft people, one thing you can’t determine is the size of a guy’s heart, how well he will project himself. He’s shown a lot of intelligence and football instincts, and his attitude has been great. It’s now a matter of whether his talents keep progressing.”

Ryan said he doesn’t consider Williams a surprise, even though he was the third receiver the Eagles took in the draft.

“Not really,” Ryan said. “In college he played in a wishbone for half a season and he played in a run-and-gun, or whatever they call it, the other half. But ever since he’s been here he’s been nothing but professional.”

A brief holdout delayed, but didn’t damage, Williams’ bid for a job. In the first preseason game, he had two receptions for 50 yards, one with a diving catch. The next week he started against Miami and had two more, one for a touchdown off a fake field goal formation. His average of 20.8 yards per catch is best on the team, although Quick will make his first preseason appearance Monday against the Colts.

It was after the first preseason game that the Eagles realized they had a potential fifth-round gem. That’s when they moved the 5-foot-11, 181-pound Williams, with 4.4 speed for the 40, from Quick’s split end spot to flanker.

“Buddy moved him over with the idea Quick would be ready to play,” Carpenter said. “We’re trying to find the best people to put on the field. It’s his (Williams’) job as long as he’s performing.” As for going over the middle, Carpenter said, “There’s no problem with that. He’s tough, has good hands. He’s showing no fear about that.”

Those were attributes Williams displayed at Dunbar, where he had 21 touchdowns in 57 receptions in three years under then-Coach Bob Wade.

“He always had a knack for making an adjustment to the ball,” Wade said. “He was a triple threat for us. He was a return specialist and played left cornerback. He never came off the field. And he had tremendous determination. He was the best receiver I had at Dunbar.”

Williams said his goal coming into camp was to be a starter, a goal not as far-fetched as it may have seemed.

“They drafted four receivers and signed another, so you knew the position was open,” Williams said. “I thought the more realistic goal was making the team, but I set my standards high.”

Like Cunningham, Carpenter figures this fifth-round selection may in time become a steal.

“The biggest thing for a young guy is, he’s got to keep getting better,” Carpenter said. “(But) there’s no doubt in my mind he can play in the NFL and play well.”