Giants 2021 Unrestricted Free Agent Primer: DL Leonard Williams
The New York Giants have been knee-deep in evaluating every player on their roster to determine who is part of the team’s future and who will be moving on.
In this latest installment of our breakdown of the Giants' UFAs-to-be, I look at Leonard Williams, who, without question, is the Giants' top priority unrestricted free agent. Can they get a deal done, and if so, what would such a deal look like?
2020 Season In Review
When the Giants traded for Leonard Williams midway through the 2019 season, they had visions of a force who could stop the run and rush the passer.
They didn't quite get it on a consistent basis in 2019, which caused cries of those upset with the team giving up two draft picks--a third-rounder in 2020 and a fifth-rounder in 2021--to help the cross-town rival Jets get better--to grow louder.
But the Giants stuck to their guns, and Williams rewarded them with his best season to date, including double-digit sacks (11.5), and career-highs in quarterback hits (30), and tackles for loss (14).
Of those interior defenders that took at least 80% of their team's snaps, Williams finished as Pro Football Focus's sixth-best IDL (out of 17), his 62 total pressures tying him for third in that same group.
Did I mention that Williams hasn't missed a game for the Giants since they acquired him in the trade?
That's the kind of production and value the Giants were looking for when they decided not to roll the dice and wait for free agency to acquire Williams. This was a classic case of "try before you buy" for both sides--a subtle yet crucial philosophical change given how the Giants, in recent years, dished out hefty free-agent contracts only to fail to come close to recouping a worthwhile return on their investment.
More importantly, this arrangement is trending toward a longer term marriage between the two.
Why the Giants Should Re-Sign Williams
Pass rushers don't grow on trees, and Williams has finally found his pass-rushing groove in Patrick Graham's system. To add to that, Williams is also a solid run stuffer, making him an every-down defensive lineman. And smart teams don't let players like that walk out the door.
If you saw what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did in the Super Bowl as far as getting pressure on the quarterback using just their defensive front four, that's what the Giants hope to be able to do consistently.
Letting Williams walk away potentially weakens a pass rush that miraculously finished in the top half of the league thanks to scheme and which can ill-afford to lose those players who made the scheme work.
Why the Giants Should Let Williams Walk
They really shouldn't, but if there is a case to be made about letting him walk, it would be the price tag. If the Giants and Williams can't come to an agreement on a new long-term contract, they'll likely apply the franchise tag to keep him.
But the key here is that because Williams was already franchised last year, he's going to be due to a 120% raise, which would put him at approximately $19.35 million under the new franchise tag, which would be about 10.7% of the estimated $180 million salary cap projected for each team.
Paying Williams his worth is one thing, but for a team that still has a few holes it needs to plug, tying up that kind of money until a new deal is reached will mean the Giants would have to miss out on some of the premium unrestricted free agents to be that could otherwise help them this coming year.
RELATED: PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED 2021 UFA PRIMERS
OLB Kyler Fackrell | DT Dalvin Tomlinson | RB Wayne Gallman | RB Alfred Morris
Ideal Contract
4 years, $74,105,264, (APY $18,526,316). Disclaimer: This is Spotrac's adjusted linear value from their original projected market value of $11.257 million per year based on a five-year, $56,289,895 contract.
That initial projection's APY was way too low--for a player like Williams, he's going to probably want something averaging around what he made last year, which again, is a hair over $16 million.
The adjusted APY of $18.526 million per year satisfied that goal plus gives him a raise that falls just short of the 120% total he would have received if the Giants tagged him a second time.
Prediction
Unlike last year where there were a lot of question marks, such as how would the new coaching staff deploy Williams getting in the way of a long-term deal being reached, this year, there are more answers to where each side should be feeling a lot more conformable with the other.
The coaching staff likes Williams, and all indications are he likes the staff and the organization. A new multiyear deal will get done this time, and again, hopefully, the sooner, the better. However, expect the Giants to have the franchise tag at the ready if the two sides don't agree on a new deal by the deadline.
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