8. Tramon Williams, Green Bay Packers
How rare is it for a defensive back to play in the NFL at age 37? Exceedingly so. Per Pro Football Reference’s Play Finder tool, only 15 have done it in NFL history. Williams will become the 16th when he suits up for the 2020 season. Last season, he played 547 snaps in the slot and 181 outside for a Packers defense that played dime on 52% of its snaps, the highest rate in the NFL. And on those slot snaps, Williams allowed 30 catches on 48 targets for 385 yards, 198 yards after the catch, one touchdown, one interception, and an opponent passer rating of 85.9.
Williams may not have the absolute recovery speed he once did, but he’s learned enough about the game in his 13 NFL seasons to decipher what’s coming from the opposing passing game, and he’s as smooth a route-runner as most receivers. This allows him to carry his targets from the first step through the end of the route, no matter what that route may be. That’s an incredibly valuable skill for any slot defender to have.
That said, Williams’ most impressive play in 2019 may have come as an outside cornerback. Either way, not bad for an older guy.
As part of Giants receiver Darius Slayton's rookie orientation, 36-year-old Packers cornerback Tramon Williams helped Slayton out by running his route for him, and letting him get a little exercise.
The price? One regulation football. pic.twitter.com/jyHYa2cflh
— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) July 9, 2020