“We don’t believe in windows. I don’t think you can build a team with the notion of ‘we have to win now,” Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta once said regarding how the team goes about building a successful franchise in the modern day NFL.
After much thought given to DeCosta’s sentiments, no truer words have never been spoken regarding the season that lies ahead for the Ravens.
As we all know draft picks are huge part of building an organization and can ultimately make or break a season or seasons to come.
Much of our training camp coverage from myself and colleagues from the RSR was devoted to just exactly how past draft picks were going to play a role in 2014 particularly second year players.
Enter defensive tackle Brandon Williams.
Williams kicked off OTA’s and minicamp with a bang reporting in great physical shape in which he spent much off his offseason preparing unlike he was able to last year after suffering a toe injury that kept him out for three games in 2013.
“Last year I was heavier than I needed to be, and [during] the offseason [I] got a lot more cardio in and [put] a lot more work in physically [in the] weight room to bring that down,” Williams stated after practice on Monday.
“And now I’m at 22 percent body fat, so from back [down] when I was 28 or 30.”
Williams rode that momentum of a solid offseason program straight through training camp where the former Missouri Southern State product created havoc for the Ravens first and second team offenses.
Williams admitted on Monday that Clarence Brooks (defensive line coach) uploaded film of Kelly Gregg, who was a vital part of the Ravens stellar defense from 2000-2010 for Williams to watch and study.
“I actually have. Me and ‘C.B.’ [defensive line coach Clarence Brooks] talk, and he put some film on my iPad – and for everyone, not just for me – to look at what he did and how he played,” Williams said when asked about Gregg. “So, I’ve definitely been doing that and trying to work that into the repertoire.”
On several occasions throughout training camp and through three weeks of preseason games, Williams gave fans and opposing teams a small sampling of just how he could create nightmares for offensive coordinators on the Ravens schedule in 2014.
Per Pro Football Focus, Williams graded out as the fourth-best defensive tackle/nose tackle through the first three games of preseason. His +6.4 rating rank only behind Gerald McCoy +16.7, Landon Cohen +7.7 and Zach Kerr’s +7.0 rating.
PFF writer and RSR friend Gordon McGuinness had this to say about the Ravens 2013 third-round draft pick.
“Barely used as a rookie in 2013, Williams has shown that a breakout season may very well be in the cards in 2014. A standout against the run, he has proven tough to deal with for opposing centers.”
While the true test will come in week one of the regular season against a stout Bengals offensive line, Williams has caught the eye of John Harbaugh as to what kind of player he can be.
“The point you’re making is that Brandon Williams has played very well, and his best game was against Washington. He was dominant – absolutely controlled the middle of the line of scrimmage,” Harbaugh said on Monday.
“That’s something to build off of. I’m excited about it, but he has to keep going. He has to keep getting better. He’s a young guy. We don’t want him to get too happy with himself, and he’s not that kind of guy who would anyway. We’ll see where he goes from here.”
Seeing where he goes from here is of the utmost importance to an aging Ravens defensive line.
At just 25 years old, Williams is exactly the kind of player DeCosta is counting on not just for 2014, but for years to come.
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