Auburn vs. Louisville

Auburn wide receiver D'haquille Williams (1) runs the ball against Louisville during the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

(JULIE BENNETT)

At this time last year D'haquille Williams was Mel Kiper Jr.'s top-rated receiver in the 2016 NFL Draft.

After a year filled will off-the-field drama ended with Williams being dismissed from Auburn following an altercation in which he reportedly punched teammate Xavier Dampeer, the Tigers' backup center, in the early morning hours of Oct. 4, Williams is now looking at the prospect of being a late-round pick in April's draft.

"Williams went from being a guy you thought could maybe a second-rounder, maybe higher than that, to I wouldn't say fallen off the map entirely but being a guy that maybe Day Three," said Kiper Jr., ESPN's long-time draft analyst. "You get into the fourth, fifth-round area, depending upon how things go between now and late April."

NFLDraftScout.com ranks Williams as the No. 28 wide receiver and No. 204 player overall as a projected sixth-round pick in this year's draft.

Williams, who recently resurfaced in Florida, had only 12 catches for 147 yards and one touchdown in five games this season.

The former top-ranked junior college player in the country, Williams caught 45 passes for 730 yards and five touchdowns despite missing three games in 2014, including the Outback Bowl, which he was suspended for due to an undisclosed violation of team rules.

Williams' off-season was filled with drama.

In May he posted a series of tweets insinuating he was not happy and looking to leave Auburn, which prompted wide receivers coach Dameyune Craig to meet with Williams the next day and tweet a picture, which has since been deleted, with the phrase "Everything Gucci!"

Williams was suspended for six days of fall camp in early August due to a "discipline issue" involving an interaction with Craig.

"It's a shame but he wasn't able to live up to the the kind of potential he showed week to week and do the kind of job you need to maximize all that talent that he had," Kiper Jr. said. "There' no reason why if he had played all year at a high level he couldn't have been a first-round pick, but now you're thinking, like I say, maybe Day Three."