Tag: Evan Williams

Green Bay Packers rookie safety Evan Williams injured his hamstring against the Jacksonville Jaguars and was ruled out for the rest of the game coming of half time.

Williams, a standout rookie for Jeff Hafley’s Packers defense, was replaced by rookie Javon Bullard.

Williams made two tackles before exiting the game. The rookie fourth-round pick of Oregon played every snap of the Packers’ win over the Houston Texans last week and was tracking towards another full-time role on Sunday in Jacksonville.

The Jaguars took advantage of Bullard on their go-ahead touchdown drive in the third quarter, with Christian Kirk beating Bullard for a 26-yard completion and Brian Thomas Jr. beating him for a 14-yard touchdown catch.

Williams produced an interception and forced fumble during the first seven weeks of the 2024 season.

Green Bay Packers safety Evan Williams had plenty to celebrate on his 23rd birthday on Sunday. The rookie out of Oregon gifted himself an interception off of Sean Clifford, marking his third pick in the first week of his first NFL training camp.

After practice, Williams said he considers himself a playmaker but recognizes that there are times when opportunities for interceptions aren’t as frequent. That’s why he’s trying to make the most of them.

So far, the Packers safety group has had a tremendous start to camp, with Williams and fellow rookie Javon Bullard playing significant parts. Both have caused turnovers while lining up with the starting defense, showing the coaching staff that the moment isn’t too big for them.

Prior to Sunday’s practice, head coach Matt LaFleur touched on the performances of both Williams and Bullard.

“I’m really excited about both those guys,” said LaFleur. “Certainly, they have a skill set, but the mental ability of both of these guys to be able to retain what they’ve learned throughout the course of OTAs and come back and continue to build on it day by day. I think it’s been super impressive. They are versatile enough. We can interchange the safeties so you can’t get a beat on who is going to be where. It’s such a competitive situation.”

Out of the Packers’ 11 newly added draft picks, you can make the case that Williams has made the most noise out of all of them based on production. No one on the defense has forced more turnovers than Williams, which are often a deciding factor for wins during the regular season.

Williams’ ball skills weren’t what he was known for coming out, but they have certainly been a pleasant surprise. He logged four interceptions during his college career but had none in his final year with the Ducks. However, he did make a positive impact in other ways while lining up all over the field.

Green Bay plans to use their safeties interchangeably this season, meaning Williams may be asked to play deep, in the slot, or in the box on any given play. That can be a lot to put on a rookie’s plate, but Williams remarked that he has enjoyed trying to learn a new defensive scheme while trying to pick up on any tendencies from the offense.

It’s a positive sign that Williams hasn’t been overwhelmed, as he’s constantly been around the ball.

“I feel like I’m progressing every day, truthfully,” said Williams. “Every day, I’m just trying to learn a little bit more about how our coordinator thinks and what type of calls he’s going to be making in certain situations.”

If Williams continues at his current rate of becoming more engrossed in the scheme and translating it to making plays on the field, he could be a significant contributor to the Packers’ defense in 2024.

The Green Bay Packers have officially signed fourth-round pick Evan Williams. Over the Cap now has the details on what Williams’ rookie deal will look like.

Williams earned a standard four-year rookie contract that totals $4.822 million with a signing bonus of $802,880.

Williams will receive the full signing bonus up front, but from a salary cap perspective, that $802,880 can be pro-rated over the life of the contract. Or, in short, the cap hit in 2024 from that bonus is just $200,720.

That pro-rated signing bonus amount plus a base salary of $795,000 makes up Williams’ cap hit for this season, which totals $995,720.

Moving forward, beyond 2024, a $200,720 cap hit from the pro-rated signing bonus will be on the Packers’ books all four years of the contract, along with Williams’ base salary increasing each year as well.

In 2025, Williams’ base salary will be $960,000. In 2026 it increases to $1.075 million, and then $1.190 million in 2027.

Here is a look at what Williams’ cap hit will be each season:

2024: $995,720
2025: $1.160 million
2026: $1.275 million
2027: $1.390 million

Like Xavier McKinney and Javon Bullard, Williams brings added versatility to the Packers secondary, filling that ‘interchangeable’ mold at the safety position that GM Brian Gutekunst was looking for. While most of Williams’ snaps in college came as a free safety or in the box, the Packers project that he can also play out of the slot, based on his movement skills.

Williams did a little bit of everything during his time at either Fresno State or Oregon. He was a sound tackler, a willing run defender, he found success these past two seasons as a blitzer, and always seemed to be around the football.

“He’s a downhill, come-and-get-it kind of guy,” added Packers VP of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan. “He plays quick. He plays fast. But really, I think the thing that jumped out to us was every game you watch, he’s got an aggressive play style. He comes downhill and puts his face on you and we thought that would bode well within this defense with what we already have out there.”

The Green Bay Packers traded up for safety Evan Williams in the fourth round of this year’s draft and see him as someone who can line up in the nickel at the NFL level.

Williams saw his most snaps from the nickel this past season with 165, but that wasn’t what he was primarily asked to do, with the bulk of his snaps coming at free safety or in the box.

However, what the Packers saw from Williams at the Senior Bowl from a movement standpoint and his short area quickness, gives them the confidence that he can fill that nickel role in the NFL.

“With Williams in particular,” said VP of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan, “he’s played more safety but especially at the Senior Bowl you watched him and change directions and do those kinda things, he was a very very efficient mover in short space, which is what you’d like your nickel to be. So we felt pretty good about that.

“More in line with (Jordan) Morgan, you’re looking at the traits and saying I think he can do it. He’s smart. Those nickels in today’s game, you’ve got to play the pass but you’ve got to be willing to come up and put your face on somebody too. He does that. Any game you put on, he’s coming up, coming downhill. He enjoys that part of the game, so we felt pretty good about it.”

That run game aspect that Sullivan mentions is also an important aspect of lining up in the nickel, along with the obvious coverage responsibilities that come with that role.

Throughout his college career at Fresno State and Oregon, Williams was a reliable tackler and a capable run defender–consistently grading out over three seasons as one of PFF’s better run defense safeties. Williams also found success when used as a blitzer, generating 16 pressures the last two seasons.

Along with Javon Bullard, Edgerrin Cooper and the other defensive additions the Packers made, Williams brings an aggressive and physical play style to Green Bay–a clear point of emphasis for Brian Gutekunst as he reworks that side of the ball a bit under new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.

“He’s a downhill, come-and-get-it kind of guy,” added Sullivan. “He plays quick. He plays fast. But really, I think the thing that jumped out to us was every game you watch, he’s got an aggressive play style. He comes downhill and puts his face on you and we thought that would bode well within this defense with what we already have out there.”

Williams fits that “interchangeable” mold that Gutekunst has been looking for at the safety position this offseason. Along with Xavier McKinney and Bullard, the Packers see Williams as someone who can play the nickel and line up at free safety.

That interchangeability between the two safety spots and the nickel cornerback helps open up the playbook for Hafley from a game-planning perspective and will keep the offense guessing, to a degree, not knowing who may line up where or what each player’s responsibilities are going to be.

“For me, those guys I’d love to be interchangeable,” said Gutekunst. “I’d like them to be able to do everything. I think that’s really tough on an offense when those guys can move down inside, they can play the post, they can go in the nickel and cover. I think when you have two guys that can do everything, it’ll allow Jeff to be much more, you know, efficient so to speak.”

The additions of Bullard and Williams also provide some potential competition for Keisean Nixon as the primary slot cornerback–something that was missing prior to the draft.

While the Packers believe that Williams has the skill set to play the nickel, there will likely be a learning curve that comes with doing so.

However, while in today’s NFL, it’s important to find immediate help in the draft, the draft is also about selecting players based on who teams believe they can become, not who they are in the moment. And Williams the traits that leave the Packers feeling confident that he can fill this role.

“I lined up mainly to the boundary this year,” said Williams, “and there were times where I would roll down, they would show a man look or show near the line of scrimmage and come off the edge. I think kind of that variability, being able to play in the post, play near the line of scrimmage and make plays around the ball,

“I feel like that’s definitely something that sets me apart, just kind of being a do-it-all guy, being able to make those plays. And once you get the chance to blitz, I feel like I was pretty effective last year and looking to maybe get some of those sack numbers up and yeah, just cause havoc in the backfield. I feel like that translates really well into this league.”