Green Bay Packers free agent target: Dan Williams

NFL free agency is less than a month away, and with some drastic room for improvement in the heart of their defensive front the Green Bay Packers could break tradition and get involved. General manager Ted Thompson has a serious issue to address at inside linebacker, but the Packers’ inability to stop the run might best be aided by an addition at nose tackle.

The nose tackle position is somewhat of a sub-group under the heading of “defensive tackle”, and finding a quality player that can handle the duties is very difficult. Not only does a nose tackle need to move double-teams to collapse running lanes, but they need the raw combination of size and strength that allows them to stand their ground as the line’s anchor when necessary. Looking at this year’s free agent class, Arizona Cardinals’ DT Dan Williams jumps out as dominant run-stuffer that may interest the Green Bay Packers.

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The 6’2, 330lb Williams joined the Cardinals as a first round pick in 2010 and has been an underrated force on their interior line ever since. Williams is a run-defender in the truest sense of the word. At most, he’ll only make one annual trip to the quarterback and has not put up significant tackle or impact-play numbers at any point in his career. He is, however, a still spot which allows the rest of his defense to swarm around him and perform.

Unlike a defensive tackle in a 4-3 scheme who may attempt to cause more backfield disruption, the nose tackle in a 3-4 defense often aims to control his blockers and collapse the pile into running lanes. Sometimes, a nose tackle’s greatest weapon is the guard or centre in front of them, who they can throw into an opposing running back. While I don’t think Williams’ athleticism gets enough credit and I believe in his ability to stick in a 4-3, his schematic fit in a 3-4 is very encouraging.

Watch below as Dan Williams reflects on the Cardinals’ win over the Dallas Cowboys earlier this year. This was one of Williams’ finest career games as he helped hold DeMarco Murray under 100 yards for the first time in 2014.

The issue working against Williams may be how he was used in Arizona, or more specifically, how often. According to 2014 statistics from Football Outsiders, Williams was on the field for just 475 snaps in the Cardinals 2014 season. That works out to under 40% of the total defensive stats, meaning that Williams was only on the field for a minority share. Typically, this means he would remain in on 1st and 2nd down, but leave the field on 3rd down or any clear passing situation.

Was this a result of Arizona’s overcautious use of Williams, or representative of his true limitations? Assuming that his conditioning can handle an increased workload, I would be comfortable with Williams being on the field for the majority of snaps, even eating blockers as linebackers blitz on shorter passing downs. For comparison’s sake, Letroy Guion was on the field for roughly 50% of Green Bay’s defensive plays in 2014.

B.J. Raji was scheduled to man the position entering 2014 on a 1-year, $4M contract, but missed the entire season due to injury. Josh Boyd handled the position with uninspiring results before handing it over full-time to Guion, who is now more likely to start 2015 on probation than on an NFL roster. Raji returning on a cheaper deal would not surprise me, but the Packers cannot afford to continue on with substandard options at such a critical position.

Green Bay managed to trend upwards against the run game after sliding Clay Matthews inside, but at the midseason point they ranked dead last in the NFL. With such an electric offense and quality pass defense, the Packers must find a way to halt the run and take control of the time of possession.

Dan Williams may have a limited market due to his role on a defense, but those teams who are interested will all take a close look. I would expect him to receive a contract with an annual average value of $4M – $5.5M. Green Bay has some internal free agent business to handle first, but if the salary cap allows, Dan Williams could be an interesting place to start. The Julius Peppers experiment was a success, and that could lead to some increased aggression from the Packers.

Next: Green Bay Packers 2014 year in review: Defense

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