(Editor's Note: Throughout the off-season, DallasCowboys.com staff writers will take a closer look at the roster, analyzing players' impact last season and how each fits into the team's 2015 plans. Today's Roster Rundown entry features wide receiver Terrance Williams.)
Name: Terrance Williams
Position: Wide Receiver
Height/Weight: 6-2/208
Experience: 2 seasons
College: Baylor
Key stat: Williams caught just 41 passes in 18 games, which isn't many for a No. 2 receiver. However, he scored 11 times on the year, which means almost 30 percent of his receptions went for touchdowns.
Contract Status:Signed through the 2016 season.
2014 Impact: Terrance Williams is my example of why numbers should never get in the way of the evaluation of the player. I am in the minority here, but I think that Williams played well in 2014. But I also have an advantage over a lot of folks due to the access I have that allows me to study his film every day. I understand where fans might have a problem with him, but if you had a chance to watch him execute his routes, there were some opportunities there that were not taken advantage of. The only game where I felt like Williams let his team down was the home game against the Eagles. It was by far the worst game he played the entire season in regard to being a complete receiver. His routes were poor and he never put himself in a position to make a play. What I have grown to respect about Williams in his brief career is his ability to find open space. It is rare that you find a young player that, when things break down, they don't panic and with Williams this might be his most redeeming trait. He has a keen sense of awareness and what is going on around him, which is why you see him make the number of big plays that he does. It is why that you see Tony Romo go in his direction more times than not in those situations. Another area that Williams doesn't get enough credit in is as a blocker. If you go back and chart several of the long, downfield runs that Murray had this season, it was Williams on the edge tied up with a cornerback working to get him more yards.
Where He Fits: Terrance Williams might drive fans crazy with his play, but he is more of a complete receiver than you think and going into his third season -- I believe that you will see that. We should not lose sight of really what a talented player that he is. I can live with some of his technique faults such as his tendency to be a body catcher knowing that there have also been snaps where he has snatched the ball on several occasions. Williams will once again line up opposite Dez Bryant and will continue to make those big plays both as a receiver and blocker when he is asked to.
Writers' AnalysisDavid Helman:Williams is a hard guy to form an opinion on, because he did so much while also at times seeming to do so little. He was the team's No. 2 receiver, and yet he finished with a mere 41 receptions for 751 yards. That's an average of two catches for 47 yards per game – largely thanks to his disappearing act in the second half of the season. At the same time, he scored an absurd 11 touchdowns in 18 games, and he made some season-defining plays like his 3rd-and-20 catch in Seattle and his game-winning touchdown in the playoff game against Detroit. It'd be easy to knock Williams for that stretch of seven games in which he caught just 10 balls, but he also stepped up and accounted for plenty of big moments. The bottom line is that the 2014 Cowboys funneled their offense through Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray. Williams combined with Jason Witten to provide a solid pair of good, if not always consistent third and fourth options. In this offense, that was good enough. If Murray leaves and the ground game production drops off, he'll have to step up.
