Tag: best safeties

Franchise-tagged Saints stud Marcus Williams snubbed on best NFL safeties list

Touchdown Wire ranked the best safeties in the NFL, but New Orleans Saints franchise tagged player Marcus Williams was overlooked.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyahgz6p2j3xp7 player_id=none image=https://saintswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

The New Orleans Saints value Marcus Williams; that message was sent loud and clear when they issued the franchise tag to the 24-year old safety just months after his strongest season in the NFL, or at least his best performance since his dynamic 2017 rookie year out of Utah. But when Touchdown Wire ranked the league’s 11 top safeties (plus eight honorable mentions), Williams was nowhere to be found. A charitable reading of that suggests Williams is, at best, ranks 20th among his beers.

It’s a heck of an oversight. Williams has bagged more regular season interceptions since he entered the league (13) than everyone on the list but Justin Simmons (No. 1), Tyrann Mathieu (No. 2), Harrison Smith (No. 9), Quandre Diggs (No. 11), and Jordan Poyer (an honorable mention), but ball skills weren’t the only factor considered (or else Kevin Byard, with 18 interceptions in that span, would have also earned a spot).

Williams has been dinged for his missed tackles, most infamously in the you-know-what, but the problem persisted until 2020 when he finally shored up his technique. He missed just three times on 62 attempts last season, per Pro Football Reference. You’d think that progress would have been noticed, but oh well.

Maybe Williams has to sign a big-money deal to get on national analysts’ radar. He’s in line for a payday, either in the next few weeks before a July 15 deadline to work out an extension or next spring should the Saints not use the franchise tag again. And he’s young enough to sign a $61 million deal like Simmons and get paid again before he turns 30. Whether he’s getting the offseason accolades or not, the Saints clearly value Williams, and he’s going to get his due — probably at the bank.

[listicle id=45617]

Notre Dame Football: Pair of Irish named to CFN’s Top 50 list

A pair of Notre Dame players showed up on the CFN Top 50 players list entering 2020. Who didn’t make the cut that’s the surprise, though.

We’re just 13 days until Notre Dame kicks off against Duke and the 2020 college football season gets underway for Fighting Irish fans.

As we’ve gone over the rankings of best teams each time we can find one, we haven’t done much on the actual best players outside of Notre Dame.

College Football News did that recently, naming the 50 best players in college football entering the 2020 season.  In order to make their list you have to be on a team that is scheduled to play this fall, not in the winter or spring.

With that in mind, know that two Notre Dame players made the list but they probably aren’t the two you’re guessing.

If you’re like me your first thought is probably “OK, its Kyle Hamilton easily and did they go with Koramoah or Eichenberg as the second?”

Well, about that.

They didn’t actually go with Hamilton in the top 50, instead ranking offensive tackle Liam Eichenberg as the 11th best player and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah as the 34th best player.

Here’s what they said about both.  First up, 11th ranked Eichenberg:

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

Marcus Williams ranked among NFL’s best safeties

New Orleans Saints starter Marcus Williams was ranked among the best safeties in the NFL, along with Tyrann Mathieu and Kevin Byard.

[jwplayer vwnhpmNp-ThvAeFxT]

It’s tough to overlook the few bad moments that Marcus Williams has turned in during his New Orleans Saints career, considering how bright the spotlights have been on him at times. But fans should remember that there is more to Williams than a missed tackle here or an ugly facemask penalty there. He’s one of the NFL’s brightest young stars at safety for his consistent, high level of play on a snap-by-snap basis.

That’s the argument made by Mark Schofield over at Touchdown Wire, where he listed Williams among the game’s top tier of talented safeties. Williams is on the same level as players like Earl Thomas, Tyrann Mathieu, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Harrison Smith. Here’s some of what Schofield wrote to justify that lofty praise:

Last season was his best in terms of pass coverage. Williams was targeted 24 times in the passing game, allowing just 12 receptions for 139 yards and a single touchdown, against four interceptions. He gave up an NFL passer rating of just 42.2, his best mark in three seasons in the NFL. A prime example of his ball-hawking ability comes from his interception of Matt Ryan this past season, on a deep throw intended for Calvin Ridley. Williams reads the quarterback’s eyes perfectly and breaks on the throw, taking a perfect angle to undercut the pass:

We’ll see where the 2020 season takes Williams as he continues to climb the ranks, but he’s put himself on a high trajectory by playing so well so soon into his NFL career. One factor worth filing away is his contract status; as a 2017 second-round draft pick, he’s entering the final season of his four-year rookie deal, and can earn a big payday in 2021 if he keeps up his momentum. With teammates like linebacker Demario Davis and running back Alvin Kamara also lined up for contract extensions, the Saints might be facing some tough decisions in the near future.

[lawrence-related id=35072]

[vertical-gallery id=33835]

Notre Dame’s Best Defender Given Massive Praise

Kyle Hamilton Averaged 34.9 coverage snaps per reception per Pro Football Focus, 35th nationally among all safeties and second among freshmen

Kyle Hamilton went from almost an afterthought of a recruit a few short years ago to an eventual five-star player in the 247Sports ratings and eventually became an impact-freshman in 2019.

Now the sophomore to be will have a lot of national eyes on him as he enters year two at Notre Dame as he’s been named by some in the new as one of the truly elite nationally at his position.

Anthony Treash of ESPN ranked returning safeties in college football ahead of the 2020 season and Hamilton checked in fifth nationally.

“True freshman safety Hamilton could not have done much more in coverage for the Fighting Irish last season. The 6-foot-4 defensive back finished among the five best safeties in the country in PFF coverage grade and had more interceptions plus pass breakups (nine) than catches allowed (seven). That production paved the way to a 1.3 passer rating allowed. Hamilton read quarterbacks like books and made special plays all season. He’ll be a vital piece to the Irish secondary the next couple of seasons.”

Hamilton is a star in the making and despite some secondary losses to the NFL in Troy Pride, Jr., Donte Vaughn Jalen Elliot and Alohi Gilman, Hamilton’s presence along with highly-touted players in both Isaiah Pryor and Houston Griffith make me more optimistic about the secondary than others.

If you want to see Hamilton’s accomplishments and watch 2:30 of his highlights from freshman year then click ahead…

Pages: Page 1, Page 2