Cardinals Knew CB Garrett Williams Was Their Guy All Along
When the Arizona Cardinals drafted Garrett Williams in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, the move was applauded by analysts and experts around the league. Though Williams was coming off a torn ACL suffered in his last season at Syracuse, he was viewed as an extremely talented cornerback who just needed to stay healthy.
Many believed Williams was one of the top corners in the class prior to his injury, an area the Cardinals needed to address with the departure of Byron Murphy in free agency.
According to Syracuse.com's Emily Leiker, the Cardinals knew they were drafting Williams all along.
Williams' last meeting at the NFL Combine was with Cardinals. It was also Arizona's last scheduled cornerback meeting "on purpose" knowing their interest was heavy. Williams said the energy was different than any other meeting he had in Indy.
"Those present were impressed with how in-depth Williams could talk about defensive fronts and coverages, and new Arizona head coach Jonathan Gannon, a former defensive coordinator, remarked that much of the terminology Williams used was the same he employs," said Leiker.
Williams reportedly had four other teams on his radar: Jacksonville, Denver, Detroit and New England. He told Leiker he didn't have a lot of contact with Arizona - just a short zoom interview he did with new defensive coordinator Nick Rallis after the combine - which was intentional. The Cardinals knew they wanted Williams after just two meetings with him.
Clearly the Cardinals were confident in Williams' ability.
"Garrett is a player that we really like. He's played inside, he's played outside. He's extremely tough and physical. He's not the tallest guy, but he plays bigger than his size. He's productive on the ball. He's a good tackler," said Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort following his selection.
"So would he have gone higher without the injury? Maybe, maybe not. I don't think anybody can really answer that question. We're excited that we added him though.”
Arizona feels like they've potentially got a steal on their hands. The first of that foundation will be laid with Williams and the rest of his rookies when they arrive for offseason activities:
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 22-23, May 25, May 31-June 2, June 5-8
Mandatory Minicamp: June 13-15
Rookie Minicamp: May 12-14
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