Sacrificing sleep for study sessions, sixth-round pick CJ Williams relies on a rigorous note-taking routine and Stanford-taught pro concepts to climb a crowded Jacksonville depth chart.
Before CJ Williams hits the field to practice with his teammates, he spends hours studying the playbook to memorize his assignments and confidently execute playcalls.
"I don't feel comfortable coming out here if I don't write the plays down, if I don't recite it, walk through it to myself," Williams told News4Jax's Alessandra Pontbraind on Thursday. "So, a lot of it, like the night before, not getting a whole lot of sleep because I'm writing a lot of plays down, specifically the stuff I'm running and even the vets are."
The Jacksonville Jaguars drafted the 22-year-old receiver out of Stanford with the 203rd pick in the sixth round of this year's draft. He told reporters in a Zoom call that the team would not have to worry about him being in the playbook.
His mentality has stuck even months after being drafted. Alongside studying the playbook, Williams played in a pro-style offense with the Cardinals under Frank Reich, who is the New York Jets' offensive coordinator.
"We ran (a) very similar system," Williams said. "I would say a lot of the calls, obviously, terminology is different as they would be anywhere you go, but schematically it's similar."
Williams had a career year at Stanford after pit stops at Southern California (2022) and Wisconsin (2023-24). He hauled in 59 receptions for 749 yards and six touchdowns, which was more than his previous three seasons combined.
The former Cardinal had four games with 100 yards or more, the most since J.J. Arcega Whiteside in 2018. Three of those performances came in consecutive weeks, becoming the first player to do so since Alex Smith in 2004 and the first wide receiver to do so since Troy Walters in 1999.
Williams is competing for a depth spot on a deep receiver corps. Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers and Brian Thomas Jr. are rotating as starters. Travis Hunter could also see spot reps and maintain his two-way player status.
Studying the playbook isn't the only thing Williams has done; he's bonded with his fellow teammates. The Jaguars' sixth-round pick spoke highly of his teammates and how often they spend time together off the field.
"We're just a bunch of hard-nosed, great football players that are really well connected," Williams said. "In just, you know, the short amount of time we've been here, we've been real close. We've hung out a bunch of times, and we've just gotten on the same page."
Williams' time at Stanford under Reich has helped him prepare for the transition to the NFL. He ran familiar pro concepts that Jacksonville could be running, which lessens the learning curve for him.
More importantly, his mindset toward mastering the playbook is what could get him playing time sooner rather than later.
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