Giants’ rookie corner leaving big impression as he looks to steal roster spot

August 7, 2021
new york giants, rodarius williams

With several units struggling with injuries, one group has been standing out during practice for the New York Giants. The secondary, who have worked all off-season together to improve their chemistry and fundamentals, are dominating thus far in camp. Ranging from veterans to rookies, they’re working off one another and taking to coaching well.

One player who has made an impact is Oklahoma State rookie Rodarius Williams, who was a sixth-round pick in the most recent draft. Williams is a 6’0”, 195-pound man coverage corner who relies on physicality and instincts in coverage.

During practice on Friday, Williams recorded an interception and pass break up, which was intercepted by Jabrill Peppers, featuring with the first team. Veteran Adoree’ Jackson took the day to heal and rest after a string of physical practices. While William showed out in a big way, he knows there’s a lot more work left to do.

I’m definitely not where I want to be, but we definitely take it each day at a time and getting better. Each day, I go in the film room and I don’t only watch the good plays, I watch every play that my technique is bad and stuff like that. There’s mental errors. Just learning from (CB) James (Bradberry) and learning from (CB) Adoree’ (Jackson), small technique issues that I’m working on every day.

Veteran corner James Bradberry spoke about Williams and his adaptation to the NFL:

“I think he has a lot of skill. Now, it’s just him getting adjusted to the speed of the NFL and also learning the system. Once he learns the system, I think he’ll be able to play even faster,” Bradberry said of Williams, who already has an interception in camp.

Williams has the internal flame to become a contributor during his rookie season, and he’s not letting opportunities pass him by:

It just put a fire inside me competitively and I think every DB had the same fire underneath their butt in the room. We’re a deep group, so everybody is looking for their one opportunity. Every day, I just show up and take advantage of whatever opportunity I get. I’m in Coach’s ear like, ‘Coach, I’m ready.’ Whenever my moment comes, I’m going to take advantage of it.

The Giants have an extremely deep secondary, as Williams is simply looking to land a spot on the active roster. He will have to find a way to make an impact on special teams and impress Joe Judge, potentially as a gunner on the punt unit.
If he can use his speed and athleticism in that fashion, he can improve his chance of securing a spot on the roster, but simply having a few good days at training camp isn’t enough to guarantee his stay. He’s competing with players like Isaac Yiadom, Madre Harper, Jarren Williams, and Sam Beal for a spot. This is one of the more overlooked position battles on the team, but Williams making the headlines is undoubtedly a good sign of his performance.
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