David Newton, ESPN Staff Writer 7y

WR Mike Williams runs 40-yard dash in 4.49 seconds at Clemson pro day

College Football, NFL Draft, Clemson Tigers

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has the "Mike Williams Rule," and the star wide receiver lived up to that billing Thursday with his 40-yard dash time.

Williams, who skipped the 40 at the NFL combine, posted an unofficial time of 4.49 seconds in his second attempt during Clemson's pro day.

He ran a 4.50 on his first attempt.

"If there's only one [defender] on him, he's wide open,'' Swinney said when explaining the rule. "If there's two, they better be real tight on him. He's a handful, and definitely NFL-ready the minute he gets there.''

While Williams' time didn't come close to the combine record of 4.22 seconds posted by Washington wide receiver John Ross (5-11, 188), it didn't disappoint for a player of his size (6-4, 218).

Swinney compared Williams to a combination of former Clemson receivers Sammy Watkins, DeAndre Hopkins, Jaron Brown and Adam Humphries.

Watkins was the fourth overall pick by Buffalo in 2014, and Hopkins was No. 27 overall by Houston in 2013.

"He's the complete package,'' Swinney said of Williams. "He's the great combination of everything we had come through here. He's the most complete.

"He's got just the dog and toughness of Jaron Brown and Adam Humphries. He's got the freaky athleticism and ball skills of DeAndre Hopkins. He's got the route-running ability and some explosive power of Sammy. He's a handful.''

Until Thursday, NFL teams didn't have a 40 time on Williams, who is projected to be one of the top receivers selected in the draft.

"People just wanted to see his long speed," Swinney said. "He's run by a lot of fast dudes, so they had times on him. They just hadn't seen him run. I figured he'd be somewhere in the 5s."

Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson didn't run the 40, standing on his time at the combine.

But he did go through all the throwing drills with four NFL head coaches -- Chicago's John Fox, Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin, Detroit's Jim Caldwell and Tennessee's Mike Mularkey -- and representatives from all 32 NFL teams present.

Swinney doesn't expect Watson to fall too far in the first round, once again comparing him to NBA legend Michael Jordan.

"Some of the media folks got mad at me because I said if you pass on him, you pass on Michael Jordan," said Swinney, who made his initial Jordan-Watson comparison at the Senior Bowl. "I don't know how to articulate the greatness that is inside of him.

"For me, that's what Michael Jordan represents."

Swinney expects Watson, who led Clemson to the national championship in January, to be selected early.

"He won't be sitting there long," Swinney said. "Don't buy all the stuff you hear. He'll be out the gate early."

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