Leonard Williams Embraces Elder Statesman Role on Giants Defense
Leonard Williams is only 29 years old, which isn't that old in real life.
But he's also about to start his tenth NFL season, making him a graybeard. And while he has yet to show any actual signs of graying, to hear Williams speak about this team and himself, he sounds like a man perfectly comfortable with who he is, what his role on this team needs to be, and what he can do to continue to improve at his craft.
"I definitely focused a lot on my body," Williams said, pointing to the fact he missed the first games of his NFL career due to injuries, an occurrence that did not sit well with him.
"Knowing that I am getting a little bit older and knowing that I have to apply myself more in the training room and keep up with things on my body is going to be important going forward for me."
As Williams and his teammates were getting ready for their first padded practice of the summer, he admitted that he has a different perspective now versus when he was younger.
"When I was younger and leading up into it, even just maybe a year or two ago, that first day of pads is super rah-rah, everybody's getting super excited, ready to run into each other again," Williams stated.
"But at the same time, we've been working our technique and taking care of each other as a team pretty well and competing pretty well so far that I don't want any of that stuff to go out the window now that pads are on and now just go full speed and lose technique and stuff like that just to make big hits."
It takes veteran leadership and savvy to understand how to value those human car crashes properly. Yes, establishing physicality is important, but not as important as the health and safety of the team. He also knows the importance of preparation. When getting ready for an opponent, Williams says there's an order to how he looks at an opposing offense.
"Three things for me: I focus on the offensive line that I'm going against first, and then I focus on the quarterback and then the running back," Williams said. "The offensive lineman I'm going against is the guy that I'm going to have to beat, regardless of what type of play it is. So, I focus on them the most."
Entering the final year of his contract, there are no guarantees that Williams will be with the Giants beyond this season. Meanwhile, the team has built up a younger defensive front seven consisting of defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (25) and outside linebackers Kayvon Thibodeaux (22) and Azeez Ojulari (23) as a core aimed at rivaling the Eagles' core featuring Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox.
Williams was asked if he could envision the Giants own young core eventually rivaling that of the Eagles.
"That's a tough question," he said. "It's hard for me to try to compare teams that way. I don't want to say they will be like the Eagles or anything like that, but I see some great players over here on both sides of the ball.
"(Left tackle) Andrew Thomas leading the way on the offensive side, and Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon on this side of the ball. I think a lot of those guys are still just starting to touch their prime or haven’t even gotten to their prime yet. I think they will have a great career in this league."
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