Daryl Williams, LT
This was the first real look at Daryl Williams the left tackle, and it certainly could have been worse. As a run blocker, like Van Roten, he wasn’t asked to solo block a huge amount in the few drives the starters did play, but he showed the ability to work to the second level well, even if his control could have been a bit better (he wears #60):
But on the one occasion he was asked to solo block, albeit on a play-action play, he completely whiffed on the block, getting his weight out ahead of his feet and failing to engage the defender effectively with his hands:
The biggest challenge at left tackle is unsurprisingly going to be in pass protection; he did have some decent reps on shorter drops:
And even when he was beaten, he did a really good job of diverting the defender around the quarterback to allow him to step up into the pocket in order to avoid the sack rather than being left to face the defender directly:
However, even on these snaps, there are some issues that emerge, and if Williams is really going to make the most of his chance at left tackle, he is really going to need to address at least some of these. At a basic level, he needs to ensure that he starts by keeping the defender outside of him, as while this will challenge his foot speed – by getting outside the defender early as he does here, it just makes it too easy for the defender to step inside him and the Panthers can’t keep a running back in to help him all the time:
He also plays high, and while he does a good job of maintaining his block on the following play, he can’t afford to keep getting driven back into the quarterback:
In order to deal with this, he tends to narrow his base, allowing him to put maximum force in the direction of the defender – this also makes him susceptible to lateral movements and this in particular will be a real issue against more technically developed defenders:
Ultimately, he is going to struggle against better speed rushers, as he just doesn’t have the speed to cover around the edge against the very best of them, but if he is able to be more consistent in his technique, then at least he can limit his vulnerability to this, which only really showed up in a big way on one play against the Bills:
The biggest worry with Williams, however, is the odd play where his technique just goes completely out the window, he ends up crossing his legs, his arms get wide and he all-but-prostrates himself in front of the defender just asking them to bundle him to the ground:
Williams is in an unusual situation, shifting positions on a one-year deal and coming off a season-ending injury – he could either land himself a hefty new contract in the process or end up losing his spot to a rookie. It would be unusual to see him suddenly improve vastly at this stage of his career but by working on aspects of his technique as described here, he stands the best possible chance of making the most of the opportunity.
It’s hard to make much out of a few drives, but there were definitely some positives as well as some negatives, and while there are clear ways in which individual players can improve, there don’t appear to be any pending disasters and there is still plenty of time for growth before the season itself starts – they will likely face a more extended test when they play the Patriots later this week.
