It’s “will he” or “won’t he” for Sam Williams in 2024. The No. 56 pick in the 2022 NFL draft is at a crossroads in his Cowboys career. Will he figure it out and begin to realize his enormous potential or will he never put it all together and join the many other second-round picks who Dallas swung big on and missed?
To say this is a make-or-break season for Williams is to state the obvious. He’s accomplished very little in his two-year career in the NFL and seems to have logged more head-scratching plays than highlight ones.
With Dorance Armstrong, Jr. and Dante Fowler in Washington playing for Dan Quinn, the opportunity is now for Williams. Even as Quinn’s handpicked draft selection, Williams struggled stealing snaps from the other two. Through two seasons he’s only logged 32 more defensive snaps than special teams snaps. Everything stands to change in 2024.
With his biggest advocate and biggest roadblocks all out of the equation, this isn’t just a tipping point in Williams’ career, but also a tipping point in the Cowboys’ defense overall.
The absence of Armstrong and Fowler means a greater burden has fallen on Williams. Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence are already maxed out with their respective workloads. Other players will have to step up and take on bigger roles within the rotation. Players like Williams.
If the Cowboys get Williams to be the man they hope he can be, they’ll have a high-end power rusher to pressure opposite Parsons. He would take some of the burden off of Lawrence in that regard and allow Parsons to move around and rush from different areas in the process.
If Williams can’t take that next step in his development, the Cowboys could be store for a tough year. Dallas has Viliami Fehoko (2023 fourth rounder) and Marshawn Kneeland (2024 second rounder) waiting in the wings at defensive end but neither of them have a single NFL snap to his name. Besides, they project best as strong two-way players and not the fearsome pass-rusher Williams projects to be.
You know who looks like a dude? Sam Williams #richgetricher pic.twitter.com/eyW88trpJY
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) August 21, 2023
So, it’s not just about Williams getting better for the good of his career. The Cowboys need him to be better for the good of the defense. They need him to stay focused. They need him to eliminate the boneheaded plays and become a player Zimmer can trust.
A major reason for pessimism is Zimmer has very little patience for mistakes. Williams’ mistakes date back to his time at Ole Miss (nine penalties his senior season) indicating they aren’t a recent development brought on by the NFL learning curve, but a playing trait that must be overcome.
If Zimmer can’t trust Williams to play smart, he won’t hesitate to drop him in the rotation, regardless of how badly the Cowboys need a third pressure player on the edge.
There’s optimism to be found as well. Williams technically logged more defensive snaps than Fowler in 2023, but it was Fowler who garnered the most quality snaps on passing downs. It stands to reason Williams will produce better numbers when given better opportunities.
Since Fowler averaged one pressure for every 5.72 pass rushing snaps and Williams averaged one pressure every 8.04 pass rushing snaps, Williams has to improve before the Cowboys can claim improvement with Williams taking Fowler’s snaps.
At age 25, progression isn’t just possible for Williams, it’s expected. The Cowboys need the third-year DE to step up into a bigger role for the good of the defense. If he can, he could tip the Dallas defense into an elite status in 2024. If he can’t, the Cowboys may be scrambling to move parts and patch holes in the rotations all season long.
How Williams plays this season is obviously big for Williams’ future but it’s also big for the Cowboys defense.
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