Green Bay Packers: 3 Defensive Linemen to Target at Trade Deadline
By Paul Bretl
Quinnen Williams – New York Jets
While Will Fuller of the Houston Texans is drawing a lot of attention, Quinnen Williams should absolutely be priority No. 1 for Brian Gutekunst. Williams was the third overall pick in the 2019 draft, but for a New York Jets team that isn’t even close to competing, they are taking phone calls on the former Alabama star.
Admittedly, Williams’ rookie season wasn’t anything special, but it appears that he’s turned the corner in 2020. Through Week 7, Williams had totaled seven pressures, three sacks, and 18 tackles. All of which are either at or near his 2019 totals.
Even more impressive is that he ranks second out of all interior defensive linemen who have played at least 79 snaps in Pro Football Focus’ ($) run stop percentage. A run stop is a running play that constitutes a “failure” for the offense. And as we saw on Sunday against Minnesota, the Packers could certainly use some help in the run game.
Williams still has two years left on his rookie deal plus a fifth-year option, and he would be an affordable acquisition for the Green Bay Packers. And if Connor Hughes of The Athletic is accurate in that it will only take a second-round pick to pry Williams away, well, then that’s a no brainer.