Even at 36-years-old Tramon Williams will play a significant role in Green Bay’s 2019 defense. The future Packers Hall of Famer isn’t the player he once was but he’s still able to contribute at a decent level. That is just part of the reason why the team decided not to cut Williams this offseason to save a nice chunk of change. The veteran has a cap hit $6.375 million this year but the team believes that will be money well spent for the upcoming season.
Williams fell by the wayside among all of Green Bay’s storylines from 2018. However, the fact of the matter is, he was asked to play an entirely new position after 11 years of lining up at corner.
When the Packers traded HaHa Clinton-Dix, they put faith in Williams to drop back and fill that void at safety. He failed to come away with an interception for the first time over an illustrious career but his play remained solid as he addressed the defense’s largest weakness.
Perhaps most importantly, since Williams has returned to Green Bay his role has extended beyond his play on the field. The former Pro-Bowler possesses stewardship over one of the youngest secondaries in the NFL. Rookie Jaire Alexander is a rising star. Meanwhile, Mike Pettine’s unit sees a noticeable boost with Kevin King on the field. Both players have been outspoken regarding the benefits of having Williams around during practice and in meetings. The team also has Josh Jackson and Tony Brown who will take advantage from having Williams as a mentor for at least one more year.
Williams sees the field different than any other player in the Packers secondary which is why he is still an effective player even though he can’t move quite as well as he once did. Last year, Williams played a team-high 1059 defensive snaps. Yes, higher than inside linebacker Blake Martinez.
His workload was entirely too high in 2018 and is part of the reason his production took a hit. Now that the Packers have added two safeties in Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage, Williams can get back to his natural position. Furthermore, Pettine’s defense should see remarkable improvement this year given the latest acquisitions not only to the secondary but also to the front seven.
Williams won’t have to play a thousand snaps in 2019 and that alone should help keep him fresh and enable more production. On the other hand, if injuries did occur it nice to have Williams’ versatility to fall back on.
Expect to see no. 38 play a bulk of his reps in the slot where he can be more aggressive and also lineup closer to the ball. Williams probably won’t have a ton of interceptions in 2019 but his efficiency and leadership in the secondary will pay for his salary tenfold.
Via: cheeseheadtv.com