:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49483581/usa-today-8057727.0.jpg)
We were all amazed that D'haquille Williams returned to Auburn following the 2014 campaign. He was expected to be a one-and-done when the Tigers signed him out of JUCO. All didn't go exactly as planned during the 2014 season, though, and he chose to return to Auburn for one more year instead of going to the NFL as an almost certain early round pick.
Fast forward a year and through many troubles, and with the NFL Draft already a few days behind us without his name ever called, it looks like Duke Williams has finally been given a chance to make an NFL roster.
James Crepea of AL.com was the first I saw with reports that Duke was invited to a mini-camp tryout with the Los Angeles Rams.* Rand Geftlin of NFL Network reported the same. It has not yet been confirmed as true, but things are leaning that way. It looks like Turf Show Times (the SB Nation LA Rams site) were on to something last year.
It should really come as no surprise that Jeff Fisher's club would be the one to give Duke a shot. Fisher has given numerous Auburn players a try over his tenure as an NFL head coach. There are also numerous Auburn people on the staff of the Rams' overall organization.
The Rams have a brand new #1 overall pick quarterback in Cal's Jared Goff, and they are in desperate need of weapons for him to throw to. They drafted Pharoah Cooper from South Carolina, which is one excellent option. Now they have a potential to sign another for cheap.
Duke's talent is still there. He still has all of the abilities that made him an almost certain 1st Round pick according to the mock drafts before the 2015 Auburn season began. If he can get out of his own way, then he still has a chance to do amazing things at the next level. For his sake, I hope he can do it.
See our full tracker of NFL Draft news, including all Free Agent and Mini-Camp deals, here.
*They were the Rams when I first started watching football as a child, and as sad as I am for the folks of St. Louis, it just feels right to call them that, again.