The New Orleans Saints used a third-round choice on Florida State defensive back P.J. Williams in the 2015 NFL Draft. Williams missed all of his rookie season with a hamstring injury, then was lost after just two games in 2016 with a frightening neck/head injury.
Once finally able to put together a full season, Williams proved to be a durable player. Between 2017 and 2021, he missed just four games because of injury. However, Williams also struggled as an outside corner in 2017 and 2018 in the Saints' predominantly man scheme.
New Orleans finally started using Williams to his strengths. From the back half of 2018, he's been mostly an off-ball slot corner or safety. This took advantage of his vision, closing speed, and ball skills. Between 2017 and 2021, he had 8 interceptions, 4 fumbles forced or recovered, 4 sacks, and scored 2 defensive touchdowns.
For the last four years, the Saints have brought Williams back on a one-year contract. As he entered 2022, would his versatility continue to be an underrated key to the New Orleans defense?
P.J. Williams
Saints Year-In-Review
Williams played sparingly in the year's first two weeks, seeing a combined 37 snaps against Atlanta and Tampa Bay. An injury to S Marcus Maye changed that in Week 3, giving Williams two consecutive starts and 86% of the defensive snaps.
The 29-year-old Williams went down with his own injury in Week 4, causing him to miss four games and see just a few snaps upon his Week 9 return. After that, another injury to Maye pushed him back into the starting lineup.
Williams played a season-high 84 snaps in Week 10 against Pittsburgh. He'd have a career-high 11 tackles in a loss, which included nine solo stops, also a career best.
After that, Williams saw decreased playing time down the stretch. He was inactive for two of the last seven games and played just 52 snaps in those other five contests.
For the first time since playing just two games in 2016, Williams did not force a turnover. In 11 games, he had 26 tackles, none for loss, and allowed 75% completion rate when targeted. Those were also the lowest since his abbreviated 2016 campaign.
P.J. Williams will be an unrestricted free agent for the fifth consecutive year. With restructures already done to safeties Maye and Tyrann Mathieu, plus the presence of corners Marshon Lattimore, Alontae Taylor, and Paulson Adebo, don't expect Williams to be a priority to re-sign.
New Orleans re-signed Williams each of the last four years after he was allowed to test the free-agent market. Even after a down year, don't be shocked if the same thing happens again because of the versatile depth that Williams adds to the secondary.
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