After solving most offensive lines, Quinnen Williams could be on the verge of breaking through an invisible barrier for defensive tackles.
An unwritten rule over the last half-decade is that the conversation started with “Who is the best … after Aaron Donald?”
But one of Williams’ teammates who played with Donald earlier in his career says that the gap is closing because Williams is doing some things that are unmatched.
“A.D., you are talking about a guy who was a Hall of Famer probably after his fourth or fifth year,” Jets defensive end John Franklin-Myers said. “Quinnen is the new regime. Look at the stuff he does on a down-in, down-out basis. I think the difference is Quinnen dominates on run and pass, and A.D. dominates on every pass and has his tackles for loss in the run — that’s what makes him a dominant force. Quinnen dominates runs to him, runs away.”
Williams just signed a four-year, $96 million extension that eclipsed Donald’s contract by $1 million in both total value and total guaranteed ($66 million).
A three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Donald is still tops in terms of average annual salary ($31.6 million) on his three-year deal, but Williams ($24 million) is ahead of three peers who signed extensions this offseason.
The Chiefs’ Chris Jones is holding out of camp, looking to be rewarded like Williams and Donald.
“To me, just as important as those TFLs [is when] you see him shoot up the field and run down the play on the other sideline,” Franklin-Myers said. “That’s stuff that nobody else does when you look at any defensive tackle in the NFL. To me, big-picture-wise, Quinnen has the ability, and eventually — this year or next year — will surpass A.D. and Chris Jones.”
Williams, 25, is coming off a career-high 12 sacks and was the No. 9-ranked defensive tackle against the run — one spot ahead of Donald — last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Donald, 32, had career-low numbers in an injury-shortened, 11-game season.
“Quinnen has the mindset to say, ‘I’m going to do my stuff. They are talking about, ‘This guy is better or you are the third-best or fourth-best D-tackle. No, I’m about to be the first-best,’ ” Franklin-Myers said. “To hear him say that, that stood out to me. He’s going to show them.”
A handful of skirmishes broke out during the two weekend practices in the blistering heat with fans watching.
“These guys are fighting for their livelihood, right?” head coach Robert Saleh said. “They’re trying to compete their tail off to get into a starting lineup, to earn a spot on the roster, to earn a role, and so fights are going to happen.
“I tell them, when you’re fighting with your family, you have a rule. I tell my seven kids: Keep it below the neck, above the waist. The skirmishes are going to happen, don’t throw a punch. You’re going to get into a shoving match. Move on, get over it.”
Outside linebacker Jermaine Johnson switched from the No. 52 he wore as a rookie last season and at the start of camp to No. 11 — like he wore at Florida State — after it became available when the Jets traded receiver Denzel Mims to the Lions.
Johnson transformed his body in the offseason.
“He looks massive in a good way,” Saleh said. “Explosive, very powerful.”
