Quinnen Williams has experienced the kind of nonstop losing with the Jets that can change the way a player approaches playing the game.
New York has won just 10 games since it drafted Williams in 2019. Seven of those 10 wins came in Williams’ rookie season. The 6-foot-3, 303-pound defensive tackle has developed into a star during that span, breaking out in 2020 and posting 18 tackles, 3.5 sacks and three tackles for loss in the Jets’ first five games this season.
Williams is the best player on a bad team. That sometimes results in resentment or a desire to change scenery. Williams has experienced neither of those things with the Jets, though.
The brotherhood that has formed at One Jets Drive is simply too strong.
“We all have the same goal on Sunday to win,” Williams said Friday. “And you need each other to win.”
"You can be a 99 receiver in Madden, but if you don't have a quarterback to throw it to you, you're nothing"
– Quinnen Williams talks about his personal growth and building trust with his teammates and coaches pic.twitter.com/MClyyBPPr0
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) October 22, 2021
Williams arrived in New York as a jubilant 22-year-old fresh out of Alabama. Playing college football — especially on the defensive side of the ball — under Nick Saban’s watch matures a player in a hurry, but the downs he has experienced with the Jets have largely contributed to Williams’ growth as a player and a person.
Williams has learned that chemistry and trust are the two driving forces behind a good football team. The results have not shown up on the field for the Jets just yet, but Williams and his teammates are working hand-in-hand to break into the win column more consistently.
That certainly beats playing for a fractured team with players only focused on their individual accomplishments, which New York looked like it had at times during the Adam Gase era. Those days are seemingly long gone with Robert Saleh now running the show.
“Quinnen Williams is not this centerpiece,” Williams said. “I know being the third pick and stuff like that — as you grow up, you need others. You can be a 99 receiver in Madden, but if you don’t have a quarterback to throw it to you, you’re nothing.
“Coach Saleh always preaches knowing why the man next to you is going to make you go harder. If you know each other’s whys, it’s going to make the team go harder. Especially when we were on that little 0-3 run, we’re trying to push and win more games. A lot of negativity from the outside came in. As a family, you don’t want the negativity on the outside to break up your team, break up your family.”
The Jets have been looking for a bonafide leader on defense for years and it looks like Williams has matured into the role. Knowing you’re a key cog in a team’s success is one thing. Recognizing you’re not the only piece that matters is what separates the good players and leaders from the great ones.
That is the point Williams has reached — and the Jets are better off because of it.
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