The Cowboys defense could reach elite status if these 3 players make the leap

Sam Williams

Opposing offenses better be prepared. Samuel Degarrick Williams is here to stay, and has the potential to be one of the best defensive players in the entire league once he puts it all together.

Williams was drafted 56th overall by the Cowboys in the 2022 NFL Draft. Dallas is notorious for taking chances on high upside players with character or injury concerns in the 2nd round.

Coming out of Ole Miss, some teams took Williams off of their draft board due to sexual battery allegations that he was accused of in college. He has since been cleared of those charges. Here come the Cowboys in the 2nd round, happy with the findings of their own investigation, to add another weapon to Dan Quinn‘s stable.

Once Williams started showing flashes of great play during his rookie season, social media started a rumor that Jerry Jones was using his money to clone Micah Parsons.

Even Sam Williams himself got in on the fun.

Ok I see it now 🤣 @MicahhParsons11 #twin pic.twitter.com/3OhB2tpFSk

— SAM WILLIAMS SR (@DegarrickSamuel) June 11, 2022

The physical resemblance is uncanny, but the Cowboys and their fans are more excited about how similarly they play the game of football.

Williams did not show the consistency and production that Parsons had in his rookie season, but he did show similar flashes in spurts.

Big Sam finished the 2022 season with 22 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and three fumble recoveries on rushing downs.

According to PFF in 166 pass rush snaps, Williams accumulated 4.0 sacks, 9 QB hits, 11 hurries, and 22 total pressures. Add them up, and he affected the quarterback 27.7% of the time.

Considering he only logged 27% of the defensive snaps in 15 games played, he was very effective in just a small sample size. With a full offseason in Quinn’s defense, the sky is the limit for Williams.

The main challenge is going to be wrestling away snaps from veterans Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler. More playing time for Sam Williams can equal a more electric defense for the Cowboys. Both in run defense, and in the pass rush.