Quinnen Williams is heading into his fourth year with the New York Jets at 24 years old as the team’s third overall draft selection in 2019. Williams is entering by far his most pivotal year yet. He has the best surrounding talent around him to date on the defensive line since he has been with the Jets. He is healthy this offseason and going into year two of the defensive scheme, one that fits his skills. Williams should have a big 2022 for the Jets.
Brief review of 2021:
Williams had a solid third year with the Jets. He did play a career-high of 15 games and 613 snaps. Rushing the passer, Williams recorded six sacks, one less than his seven in 2020. He also had seven tackles for loss and 53 total tackles. After his big second year, the continued growth was not fully on display in 2021 as expected. That being said, Williams was still one of the Jets’ better players last year.
Skill set:
Williams is 6-foot-3, 303 pounds, and has 33 1/4″ arm length, mostly average measurables across the board. He is a terrific athlete, as shown by his 9.84 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) during the pre-draft process in 2019. Williams has elite foot speed for a defensive tackle (4.83 40-yard dash) and explosion proven by his 125″ broad jump. Williams can win with finesse, power, moves, and technique. He possesses the play strength to win as both a pass rusher and run defender. Overall, Williams has the talent to be one of the best 3-technique defensive tackles in football.
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Projected role with the New York Jets:
Williams will be expected to lead the Jets’ defensive line. He needs to make plays as both a pass rusher and a run defender. Even with all of the rotating the Jets integrate on their defensive line, Williams should play at least 65% of the defense’s snaps. The defensive tackle depth behind Williams that the Jets currently have consists of players who are better pass rushers than run stoppers. Therefore, Williams will have expectations to be a core contributor to the Jets’ run defense up front. In passing situations, Williams will get rest and be able to stay fresh. Still, in key situations on third downs and late in games, Williams is the best interior pass rusher the Jets have and will be on the field in those situations.
2022 stat projection:
Williams should make his biggest impact on the quarterback as a pass rusher yet this year. He should record at least seven, and if all goes well, break double-digits getting ten sacks. Generating a few fumbles would be nice. In terms of pressures, Williams should make a jump in 2022 and total roughly 50 (three per game). Having about 10 tackles for loss is a good amount for Williams to total this season.
Final preview thoughts:
Williams is a great leader and person to have as one of the faces of the Jets franchise. He has all the ability to be a top-10 defensive tackle in the NFL. Now, he needs to go execute on that level. This year is a crucial one for his growth. He is still a young player with his prime years in the league ahead of him.
Most importantly, Williams needs to make his impact felt in the trenches consistently every game. It will lead to dominance on the stat sheet for him. Williams should break out and be one of the Jets’ best players in 2022.