Anthony Campanile Sees Big-Picture When it Comes to Jaguars' Rookie Wesley Williams

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- When it comes to the Jacksonville Jaguars' rookie class, attention understandably gets divided.

The Jaguars drafted 10 players in April's NFL Draft, starting with Texas A&M tight end Nate Boerkircher at No. 56. Each of the Jaguars' four top-100 picks, especially Boerkircher and third-round guard Emmanuel Pregnon, has received quite a bit of pub. But what about fourth-round defensive end Wesley Williams?

wesley william — Feb 25, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Duke defensive lineman Wesley Williams (DL62) speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The fourth-rounder from Duke was not a major pre-draft name in terms of rankings amongst experts, nor is he going to be found on many lists of self-appointed steals from the draft community. But when speaking after the Jaguars' fourth OTAs practice on Tuesday, Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile made it clear that Williams is no afterthought.

Williams' Big-Picture Skill-Set

Williams, whom the Jaguars traded up in the fourth-round to select at No. 119 overall, will not be asked to carry a large load right out of the gate thanks to veterans like Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker, B.J. Green, and Danny Striggow. But that doesn't take away from the fact that he seems to be everything Campanile and the Jaguars want in a young edge defender.

“I think I said this during the draft, but his play style. We really tried to lean into that with all these guys that we took, but Wesley is a guy that's going to run around all day," Campanile said on Tuesday.

"He's not a guy that you're going to find a clip of him taking a play off. He's just a high character, tough kid."

In short ... Campanile and the Jaguars view Williams as intangibly rich, and then some. He has all of the traits they look for from an intangible perspective, which was clear when they drafted him in all the way back in April. Williams served as a Duke team captain in 2025 and won the team's Defensive MVP, Defensive Lineman of the Year and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards during his time with the Blue Devils

But now the question is if he can use those intangibles and high-character marrks to translate to on-field production. That is where he is starting from during OTAs, and Campanile has liked the early returns he has seen,

"He's been pretty quick on the uptake, so that's been exciting about him. But I think Wes has some rush ability and is really an every-down player," Campanile said.

"He's not just a specific, ‘Hey, this guy's a pass rusher, this guy's a plugger in the run game.’ To me, he's an every-down player and he's a young guy relative to a lot of the guys who were in this draft, so I really feel like he's only going to get better.”

Campanile and the Jaguars have set a high standard along the entire defense, but especially along the defensive front. Williams recorded 131 tackles, 29 tackles for loss, 28 QB pressures, 11.0 sacks, five blocked kicks, four passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery at Duke, and it is clear the Jaguars are expecting similar results.

While Williams might not get the fanfare of other top pass-rushing names in this year's rookie class, that does not for a second take away from the big-picture value the Jaguars' brass sees in Williams. Over the next few months, it will be up to him to make that picture become reality.

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