When the Cleveland Browns face off against the Minnesota Vikings, two very similar offenses will be on the field. Both mirror their run and pass plays, have outstanding running backs and wide receivers and will try to get the lines moving with the wide zone scheme.
For the Browns defense, the loss of rookie cornerback Greg Newsome II could be a big problem. Whether it is a big problem comes down to the play of his replacement, Greedy Williams.
Williams, the former second-round pick, missed all of the 2020 season with a nerve issue affecting his neck and shoulder. In his rookie campaign in 2019, Williams struggled. Pro Football Focus graded him at 54.6 overall and a similar 53.6 grade in coverage as a rookie.
During the 2019 season, Steve Wilks was calling the Cleveland defense and instituted a zone-heavy concept to replace Gregg Williams’ man-heavy scheme. With Denzel Ward and Williams as the team’s, assumed, top two corners, this move to a zone scheme didn’t make a lot of sense as both thrived as man corners in college.
Lance Zierlein noted in Williams’ NFL.com draft profile that he had a man coverage fit:
Williams has the instincts and tools to play a variety of coverages, but his length and pattern-matching talent will likely get him drafted to handle press-man duties.
During that season, the former LSU corner played outside corner on 591 of his 680 snaps on defense while playing in the box more than slot corner. With Newsome playing almost entirely outside corner, Williams will be have comfort out there.
Where he may not have comfort is in zone coverage looks that Joe Woods has been deploying. The Browns have run zone coverage over 60% of the time, according to Sports Information Solutions, and as high as over 80%, according to PFF.
As a rookie, offenses found a way to target Williams quite often. While Troy Hill and Ward, along with the Browns quality safeties, can help, in zone coverage the Vikings will be able to isolate Adam Thielen or Justin Jefferson in Williams’ area quite often.
In 2019, teams targeted Williams 52 times in coverage despite him only playing in 12 games. In the second half of the season, Williams was targeted on six or more passes five of the last eight games as their film study of him grew.
In 2021, Williams has only played in 14 coverage snaps so far. He was graded very poorly (31.5) in seven snaps in Week 1 but graded very well in Week 3’s seven snaps. Week 4’s opponent is closer to the Kansas City Chiefs passing game than they are the Chicago Bears.
If Williams is a weak link in Week 4, Newsome’s absence will be noticed all the more. If Williams holds up well against a good passing offense, despite playing mostly zone, Cleveland’s confidence in their cornerback room will soar.