LA Rams: 3 Most Pleasant Surprises on LA Rams defense

CB Williams showing ball-hawking skills

Defensive back Darious Williams has been another pleasant surprise on the Rams side of things. Williams came on late last season, starting the last 3 games of last season. Now, Williams is the second player in NFL history to intercept four or more passes in his first seven NFL starts since the 1970 merger.

The important role that Williams plays is the opposite side of Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey is a shutdown cornerback, which means that across the league he is widely regarded as an avoidable player on the defense. Offenses scheme around avoidable players like an elite linebacker, a fierce pass rusher, or a shutdown cornerback. That means that the receiver that Ramsey isn’t covering, normally the one Williams is covering, will see more targets because of the player assigned the coverage.

Potential downfall

The one thing that is a potential downfall with Williams is his lack of size, making him a mismatch against bigger receivers. Williams is just 5’9″ and 187 pounds, which means a 6’2″ receiver creates a significant size advantage that NFL teams will look to use against him. Lucky for Williams and the Rams, there aren’t many teams in the league that have the receiver depth to create those mismatches.

Regardless, Williams isn’t just picking footballs off. He’s making plays on the football and is building a reputation in his own right. Pretty soon, opposing teams are going to have to look for other players to throw the ball to, because these guys are very hard to beat.