Leonard Williams: The Good, the Great and the Ugly
A controversial trade in a lost season for the Giants led to Leonard Williams, who was all set to hit free agency in the 2020 off-season, to get an eight-game audition with the Giants.
Even more surprising than the timing of the trade was the cost: a third- and conditional fifth-round pick.
But why make the trade? The Giants, who drafted Dexter Lawrence with the 17th pick in 2019, B.J. Hill in the third round of 2018, and Dalvin Tomlinson in the second round of 2017, weren’t exactly hurting for defensive tackle help. Still, when you look at the taken, Williams offers a much different skill set than Lawrence, Hill, and Tomlinson.
I found the trade somewhat myopic because the Giants could have waited to bring Williams as a free agent. They wouldn't have had to give up any draft capital, and he'd be signed to a long-term deal, which as of this writing, he is not.
The only reason that makes any sense behind this polarizing trade is that perhaps the two sides had a preliminary handshake agreement in place regarding a long-term deal. If that was the case, it's yet to materialize, and instead, the Giants placed the franchise tag worth just over $16 million on Williams. He only signed the tag in late April just before the draft so he could participate int he team's virtual off-season program.
Even that tag didn't come without its bumps as Williams proceeded to file a grievance arguing that he be paid like a defensive end, a difference of just over $1 million. While we don't know how that grievance turned out--if it was indeed resolved--usually in cases like that, the two sides agree to split the difference, which is what we'd expect in this case.
With all that minutiae out of the way, there’s still an important fact about Williams that is often overlooked: HE’S GOOD! His sack stats don’t exactly say that he’s good, but stat-searching can be ignorant.
If you watch his tape, you’ll see the impact that he has on the field. I hope that you see what I’m talking about after reading this week’s edition of The Good, The Great, and The Ugly.
The Good: He’s Smart, Versatile, Technically Sound, and Athletic
Men aren’t supposed to be 6’5", 302 pounds and have the movement skills of Leonard Williams. I’m not referring to his straight-line speed, although he did run a 4.97 at the combine, which is in the 79th percentile for a defensive tackle.
I’m referring to his ability to get skinny through gaps, lower body flexion, and impressive length (34⅝” arms that are 90th percentile, and 10⅝” hands are 88th percentile).
This is a third-and-13 play with Williams lined up as a 3-technique going up against Connor Williams, No. 53.
Watch how the Giants defender knocks the Connor Williams' hands down to the side while establishing the half-man relationship before the young guard can ever make adequate contact. This is a testament to Leonard Williams' mental processing and quickness off the snap.
Despite being 6’5", Williams gets his inside shoulder pad under the breastplate of the guard who uses all of his might to try and flush Williams up the arc and into Tyron Smith, No. 77.
Watch the bend through contact and rep from Williams as he turns the corner to hit the quarterback. The flexibility in his lower half to do this through contact is an athletic trait that cannot be taught.
He might not have gotten the sack, but he forced an incompletion on an important third down in his first game as a Giant.
We saw Williams rush the passer effectively from a 3-technique above. In this clip, Williams starts this rep a shade outside of the 5-tech position.
Watch his ability to drive the tackle back into the pocket, with excellent technique. Williams gets lower, makes initial contact inside of the breastplate, and uses all of his length, combined with a lower-body drive to bull-rush the tackle back into quarterback Mitchell (No. 10).
Williams presses the outside shoulder of the tackle and forces an errant throw from Trubisky on a third-and-5 in the red zone.
In the above clip, you'll see Williams shades as a 1-tech in an "over front" against Washington’s rushing attack. Williams shoots off the ball hard and gets chipped by the guard while attacking the center’s outside shoulder.
Williams's long arms still get inside the center, and Williams controls the point of attack with ease. He stacks the center up and looks around the center to see the rushing lane.
In doing so, Williams forces Adrian Peterson, No. 26 to cut outside for a minimal gain.
Williams' technique is quick, clean, and effective. Controlling blockers by getting inside is a way to ensure that separation is maintained, especially when a player has the length that Williams possesses.
Williams has effectiveness at the 1-tech position against the pass too. The above is a smart release off the line of scrimmage by Williams, who knows two blitzes are coming (Alec Ogletree in the B-gap, which should occupy the guard since there’s an outside rusher, and David Mayo in the A-gap).
Jason Kelce, No. 62, attempts to seal off Williams to allow Miles Sanders, No. 26 to pick up Mayo, which doesn’t happen, but Williams' strength, leverage, and release are too clean for Kelce to take advantage of.
Williams powers through the double team, with help from the blitzer, to earn his half-sack, the only sack statistic he earned in 2019 despite having 31 pressures in eight games with the Giants.
In the above clip, Williams is at the 3-tech and shows these positive traits: quick get off, inside hand placement, power at the point of attack, press the fullback’s path forcing a cutback, and then disengage to make the tackle.
Williams does such a good job of using every bit of his length. He also uses vision to see through the blocks and read the path of the running back, while reacting accordingly.
There’s a sense of awareness about Leonard Williams that I appreciate. He seems to put himself into positions to succeed, and it seems evident in the clip above.
The Dolphins are double-teaming him, so what does he do? He attempts to split the double team but realizes he can’t, so he sits back to bat passes down and monitor the quarterback.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, No. 14, steps up into the pocket to the other side, so Williams breaks away from the double team and pursues him. Williams locates and forces an incompletion.
The vision, ability to diagnose, and ability to react to the field are parts of Williams’ game that are advanced for a 26-year-old player.
The Eagles love to run multiple tight end packages (12- and 13-personnel). Former Giants defensive coordinator James Bettcher would take advantage of the Eagles propensity to do so by lining Williams up as a 7-tech over the tight end.
This play happened on three different occasions during this contest. Williams is too strong for a tight end to keep from slanting inside, and the Giants would purposely line Williams up there when the running back was going to run away from his location.
This ensured that the Eagles would only use a tight end to block Willams while allocating their other blockers to more primary defenders.
The problem for the Eagles is Williams' strength, and quickness closes backside pursuit angles and limits running back cutback lanes. Williams did this to both Dallas Goedart and Zach Ertz, who were no match for Williams when he shot inside, leaving the tight ends with no help on the backside of a play.
The Great: Run Defense
We’ve seen a few clips of incredibly effective run defense, which can be attributed to his excellent technique, athletic ability, and processing. The fact that he can do it from so many locations, at a high level, is also one of the unsung parts of his game (the versatility that we went over above).
Here we see some of the traits that we went over before, but look at the position he puts himself in here and the quickness from a 4i-technique to get inside of Elgton Jenkins, No. 74, find the running back, and then wrap him up for a loss.
It’s no coincidence that Williams was in the running back’s path because he put himself there. His processing enhances all of the other positive traits that he has to offer.
The backside guard and motioning tight end are pulling to the 3-hole (B-Gap), where Williams is the 3-technique.
The Dolphins double team Williams with the tackle blocking down to drive Williams laterally down the line of scrimmage. Williams gets low, doesn’t budge, and spins off the blocking attempt right into the B-Gap to make the tackle.
The amount of strength necessary to pull a move off like this is eye-opening. Williams had a very good game against a familiar foe in the Miami Dolphins.
Julien Davenport, No. 70, struggled to contain Williams all game, and here is another play that highlights that. Williams is the 5-tech here, and we can see the strength in his initial pop of Davenport’s chest.
Watch how Davenport’s upper body just gets pushed backward, creating separation, right before Williams locates the running back and tracks him down for a loss.
Williams is too quick off the snap with his hands, and his diagnosing ability is often overlooked by many.
Bettcher does some good scheming to allow Williams to use his quickness, from a 3-tech position, to shoot inside on guard James Daniels, No. 68.
Ogletree stacked on Williams and shows blitz pre-snap gives Daniels some pause in following Williams inside, while Lawrence demands the center's attention, but he goes outside, which renders the center without anyone to block.
This allows Williams to beat Daniels with quickness and strength not to let the guard move Williams off his spot. Williams dips his outside shoulder after Daniels makes contact, but his strength is too much for Daniels to move.
Again, Williams does a nice job of putting himself into a position to succeed and gets an assist with some good Xs and Os from Bettcher.
Williams is a 1-tech in the clip above, and he is able to get inside of Jason Kelce, No. 62, and pull him to the ground with a readjustment after bumping into the guard that is trying to climb to the second level.
Off the snap, Williams is flowing towards the ball carrier, and he gets inside to use all of his strength to put Kelce on the ground; after that, Williams is able to track the ball carrier down for the tackle, using his large tackle radius to bring down Boston Scott, No. 35.
Williams's run defense is underappreciated, but his ability to shed at the point of attack and use his length to create separation is one of the many reasons I love seeing him in Blue.
RELATED: Why Leonard Williams Might Want to Wait to Sign a Long-term Contract
The Ugly: Needs to Finish
I am a big believer in pressuring the quarterback and pressures, hurries, and hits should be tangible like sacks (obviously with a different weighted grade).
Sacks are the pinnacle stat most fans want to use in evaluating the value of players, but it does a disservice to players like Williams, who are consistently applying pressure to offenses. Sacks are the goal, but altering offensive plays are still of high importance, and Williams does plenty of that.
If Williams wants to be paid the type of money he is reportedly seeking, he has to add more sacks to that statistical column. It’s his biggest knock amongst the fanbase, and there’s merit when we’re discussing long-term contracts.
If you want to be paid top-level money at your position, you have to get sacks. The Giants and Williams’ camp are attempting to come to a long-term deal, and Williams' half-sack total in 2019 doesn’t help his cause.
I want Williams to be on the Giants. I feel his versatility and overall effectiveness mesh with what Patrick Graham is thought to be planning on defense.
The pressures are incredibly valuable to the defense, but he still needs to finish some of these plays. It’s been an issue for Williams; the difference between a pressure and a sack is gigantic in halting the momentum of offensive drives.
The margin of “error” is thin here; Williams does a good job shooting inside on Jenkins from 3-tech while doing a very good job readjusting outside with a hump type move.
Williams gets low, reengages his lower body/core strength, and works Jenkins inside to earn outside positioning. Jenkins combats it smoothly, with a bit of a hold at the end. Pressure is applied, but the result is a huge gain for the Packers.
It's hard to knock Williams because it’s a good play on his part, but it’s just a hair behind what it needs to be to make a huge impact.
Williams seems to be the poster football player for “If Only I Had a Split Second More.” There were many plays like this in 2019; it’s one reason he had 31 pressures, 18 hurries, 12 hits, and only half of a sack in just over half a season with the Giants.
Like it or not, it’s a real part of his 2019 tape. And as I previously stated, no one should hold his pressures against him, but his inability to finish was still existent.
We see it again here against Washington. He does an excellent job disengaging from Donald Penn, No. 72, in the red zone from a 4i technique.
Williams engages Penn, uses his inside arm to create initial separation, and then grabs cloth to pull Penn’s inside shoulder downward, allowing Williams to win outside.
He finishes the rep strong with an outside arm club of Penn’s outer arm, which separates him from Penn. It’s just too late; Dwayne Haskins, No. 7, finds a receiver wide open for a touchdown.
It's hard to hold this against Williams because there are so many positive things displayed like get-off, manipulation of a tackle, separation, and multiple pass-rushing moves. Still, it was a hair too late for the sack, and that’s what people seem to remember.
We see another pressure here from the 1-tech against the guard. Williams actually gives up his chest to the guard, does a solid job working the outside shoulder of the guard, while readjusting to stay low, and then is able to rip through the outside of the guard and hit Ryan Fitzpatrick.
It was just a tad too late, and Fitzpatrick was able to go through progressions to find an open receiver for a short gain.
Final Thoughts
Leonard Williams has a lot to offer the Giants as a run defender and as a pass rusher. He’s strong, flexible, athletic, and incredibly versatile; he can effectively line up at any position along the defensive line, which isn’t easy to do. His length, diagnosing ability, and sound technique always put him into advantageous positions.
The biggest knock on him is the fact that he doesn’t finish when rushing the passer. The "Ugly" section of this article is filled with two very good reps from Williams, but the ability to finish and get the sack was not evident, and the result was terrible for the Giants.
The pressures that Williams gets on the quarterback are incredibly valuable and often overlooked.
I am not a fan of the trade, but he’s on the team for at least one more season. This gives Williams the chance to earn the money that he is reportedly requesting.
If you want to make the big bread and come close to resetting the market for your position, you have to finish and get sacks. Pressures are great, but sacks get you paid the big bucks.
Nevertheless, his contributions to the Giants are still valuable, and he would be a great asset moving forward for the team at the right price.
