New York Jets: Player evaluations on defensive line
Leonard Williams
FINAL STATS: 47 COMBINED TACKLES, 22 SOLO, TWO SACKS, ONE INTERCEPTION, ONE PASS DEFENDED
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There was a time when the Jets defensive line was among the scariest position groups in all of football. You had the Sons of Anarchy in Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Damon Harrison. That group was joined by Leonard Williams in 2015 and they brought nightmares to offensive lines and line coaches.
Then Harrison went off to the Giants. Williams stepped up in 2016 and earned an appearance in the Pro Bowl with career high seven sacks. The Jets trusted Williams so much that they traded Richardson to the Seahawks. Yes, they needed a receiver but Richardson would never have been expendable if not for Williams.
Unfortunately, 2017 did not play out as well for Williams. He did put up some hurries and quarterback hits, but he didn’t get home. The sack numbers weren’t there. The tackles were down and the sacks were down. Add that to the fact that the Jets weren’t as good against the run as they had been in the past (14th) and there is no way to pass out a great grade here.