Leonard Williams was thought of by many as the #1 overall talent in the 2015 NFL Draft, yet he fell into the lap of the New York Jets at #6. Despite already having two all-pro caliber defensive line talents in Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson, the Jets chose to go with the best player on the board and select the pride of USC. In four starts, Williams has made his presence felt with his best showing to date coming against the Miami Dolphins in Week 4.

Stats

Leonard Williams – 5 Hits, 4 Hurries, 2 Tackles, 1 Assist, 2 Stops

We’re going to look at just a handful of plays from Williams game in London.

Run Defense

2-10-MIA 32 (14:07) (Shotgun) 26-L.Miller right guard to MIA 32 for no gain (92-L.Williams).

Leonard Wiliams is lined up over the outside shoulder of the RG at the snap. The Dolphins are running an outside zone play to the left side.

When the ball is snapped, Williams takes a lateral step and immediately lowers his shoulder into the RG, which works to hide his chest from the Guard as well as knock him off balance when Williams makes contact. Williams immediately re-gains his balance, and heads straight into the backfield- taking down Lamar Miller for no gain.

1-10-MIA 40 (:12) (Shotgun) 26-L.Miller right tackle to MIA 41 for 1 yard (78-L.Douzable).

Williams originally lines up over the inside shoulder of the RT, but after TE Jordan Cameron’s motion out to slot receiver, he moves over to the inside shoulder of the RG. The Dolphins run an outside zone to the right side.

Double teamed at the snap by the Center and RG, Williams leans forward and bends into the contact, allowing him to not lose too much ground. Williams is turned sideways by the contact and chooses to remain sideways, as it gives #51 less surface area to put his hands on and puts Williams back in control. He’s able to lean his shoulder into the center, while putting both arms on the right arm of the center (Williams right hand is on the forearm and his left hand is at the wrist) as he sets himself up to shed the block. He’s able to turn the center around and give Lamar Miller nowhere to run to, forcing a cutback.

1-10-MIA 47 (9:29) (Shotgun) 26-L.Miller right guard to MIA 49 for 2 yards (94-D.Harrison; 92-L.Williams).

Williams is lined up over the outside shoulder of the RG against an inside power run.

Williams engages the guard head-on, getting both hands inside of the guards chest which gives him greater control than the guard, who’s grabbing at the shoulder pads of Williams. With Williams having won the bump at the line, he’s now just reacting to Miller’s run and is able to dive at him as he enters the hole.

Pass Rushing

1-10-MIA 26 (4:29) (Shotgun) 17-R.Tannehill sacked at MIA 20 for -6 yards (96-M.Wilkerson). FUMBLES (96-M.Wilkerson) [92-L.Williams], recovered by MIA-26-L.Miller at MIA 16. 26-L.Miller to MIA 16 for no gain (94-D.Harrison).

Williams is lined up to the outside of the LT on this passing play.

Williams, who is definitely not made to be an edge rusher, starts off trying to take the edge before directly engaging with LT #74. Despite #74 being able to get on Williams first, he’s able to use his right hand to pull off and keep off the left arm of #74 while William’s own left arm gets into the chest of the tackle. Williams keeps churning his legs through the contact and drives #74 into Tannehill, collapsing the pocket and giving Tannehill no space to escape from Wilkerson while getting in a hit of his own.

3-10-NYJ 41 (3:34) (Shotgun) 17-R.Tannehill pass incomplete short right to 84-J.Cameron.

Williams is lined up on the inside shoulder of the RG.

At the snap, Williams immediately swipes at the inside arm of the LG, who’s solo’d up against Williams thanks to the center helping the LG with Muhammad Wilkerson. Williams burst through the hole in the A-gap, placing his right arm on the back of the Center in order to gain even more leverage and push through the last resort tackle attempt by the LG. Now he’s in the face of Tannehill, who has no choice but to immediately throw or take the sack.

1-10-NYJ 37 (10:58) (Shotgun) 17-R.Tannehill pass short right to 84-J.Cameron to NYJ 26 for 11 yards (25-C.Pryor).

Williams is lined up over the outside shoulder of the RG.

Once again the RG has Williams one on one. Williams gives a few shakes as he approaches 75 in order to get him off balance and it does exactly that as the RG’s stance becomes extremely wide. From that point, Williams is able to just bullrush him back into Tannehill, who’s forced to sidestep the pressure before throwing it short and getting hit by Williams. Although he’s unable to turn this into a negative play for the Dolphins, putting pressure on the QB shouldn’t be ignored.

3-4-NYJ 4 (6:22) (Shotgun) 17-R.Tannehill pass incomplete short left to 14-J.Landry [92-L.Williams].

Williams is lined head-up over the LG.

At the snap, the entire line shifts left and Williams is now being blocked by the center. The center isn’t able to get to Williams fast enough, and has to attempt to take him from the side. Williams uses his right arm to immediately chop down on the centers arm, putting the center at an even greater disadvantage, as he’s now just leaning against him with no control. After the chop, Williams left arm comes up under that same chopped arm with a rip move and he gets his arm in front of the centers body, using it to stack the center behind him. Having to then filter through traffic; somehow Williams is able to maintain his balance as he knocks into another Dolphins offensive lineman in order to get up to Tannehill, lunge at him, and drag him down by the arm.

4-9-NYJ 9 (5:04) (No Huddle, Shotgun) 17-R.Tannehill pass short middle intended for 14-J.Landry INTERCEPTED by 24-D.Revis at NYJ -6. Touchback. PENALTY on MIA-14-J.Landry, Unsportsmanlike Conduct, 15 yards, enforced at NYJ 20.

Williams is lined up over the outside shoulder of the LG.

At the snap, the line does a full shift over to the right. The LT isn’t quick enough to get to Williams, who reduces his shoulder and does a small rip move as he passes the LT and gets into the backfield. Dealing with contact now from his teammate, Williams is able to stay up and keep his balance as he runs towards Tannehill with his hands up. Tannehill, now forced to rush his throw, is unable to realize that Landry doesn’t have the leverage on Darrelle Revis and throws an ill-decided ball as he backs away from contact, putting an end to the Dolphins chances of a comeback.