How Fearless Rodarius Williams is Showing He Belongs with NFL's Giants
New York Giants cornerback Rodarius Williams isn't your typical NFL rookie.
For one, the 6'0, 195 pounder is just a few months shy of his 25th birthday, making him older--some might even say more experienced.
But more importantly, the second of the Giants' two sixth-round draft picks is an outgoing, confident sort who thus far in Giants training camp has been anything but a shrinking violet.
No, Williams, whose younger brother Greedy patrols the defensive backfield for the Cleveland Browns, has approached his first NFL training camp like a boss.
"Camp is going well," Williams said Friday. "Just showing up and learning from everyone every day. Each day I’m learning something new from coaches and from people in the room.
"At the end of the day, it’s me versus me. I’m out there in control of what I do on the field."
Things have been going so well for Williams that he's been rewarded with first-team defensive reps. The former Oklahoma State defender, who benefitted from the coaches giving Adoree' Jackson a breather Friday, has made a very strong case for a roster spot in what's currently a crowded defensive backfield.
"I think he has a lot of skill," said veteran cornerback James Bradberry of Williams. "Now, it's just him getting adjusted to the speed of the NFL and also learning the system. Once he learns the system, I think he'll be able to play even faster."
Williams has already logged multiple interceptions and pass breakups, including one of each during Friday's practice. The pass breakup ended up an interception when safety Jabrill Peppers happened to be in the vicinity.
"It just put a fire inside me competitively and I think every DB had the same fire underneath their butt in the room," Williams said of the opportunity to go against the first-team offense.
"We’re a deep group, so everybody is looking for their one opportunity. Every day, I just show up and take advantage of whatever opportunity I get. I’m in Coach’s ear like, ‘Coach, I’m ready.’ Whenever my moment comes, I’m going to take advantage of it."
"He competes," said Giants defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson. "He's not afraid--he's trying to even call out the vets and go up and get a rep against them, and I'm like, 'Slow down.'
"But you love that about the kid that he's not afraid--you get the sense that it's not going to be too big for him."
Williams agreed that the NFL game so far hasn't been too big for him.
"I feel like in this game, you definitely gotta go out there and show guys you’re not scared," he said. "You go out there quiet as a mouse, they’re going to feel like they’ve got the upper hand on you, so I’m definitely going out there even though I’m a rookie and showing them, like, you gotta beat me at the end of the day."
In college, Williams went against more than his fair share of top competition. In 1,622 coverage snaps, he allowed just 54.2% of the pass targets against him to be completed and gave up just 11 touchdowns--none of those scores coming last season.
Williams also logged an impressive 27 pass breakups and two interceptions for a more than respectable 92.8 NFL Rating.
For as strong as a start as Williams has had, he's also humble enough to acknowledge that he doesn't have it all figured out just yet.
"I’m definitely not where I want to be, but we definitely take it each day at a time and getting better," he said.
"Each day, I go in the film room and I don’t only watch the good plays, I watch every play that my technique is bad and stuff like that. There’s mental errors. Just learning from (CB) James (Bradberry) and learning from (CB) Adoree’ (Jackson), small technique issues that I’m working on every day."
"He's got a lot of growing to do, a lot of maturing to do, but he's working hard," added Henderson.
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