The Giants place a franchise tag on Leonard Williams



[ad_1]

Williams’ team-leading 11.5 sacks were the most scored by a Giants player since Jason Pierre-Paul’s 14.5 in 2014 and were 7.5 more than all of his teammates, 4, 5 more than his previous best total (in 2016) and 11.0 more than him. in 2019. He was third in the NFL with 30 quarterback hits and tied for sixth with 14 tackles for a loss. Williams was fifth for the Giants with 57 tackles (29 solo).

In the final five weeks of the season, Williams has been named NFC Defensive Player of the Week twice.

He was first honored after the Giants’ 17-12 loss to NFC champion West Seahawks in Seattle on December 6. Williams tied his career high with 2.5 sacks – all in the second half – for 25.5 yards and was credited with five of Russell Wilson’s 10 Giants pushes. In the third quarter, Williams sacked Wilson for a 15-yard loss to help force a Seattle punt. Midway through the fourth quarter, Williams teamed up with Jabaal Sheard for a 5-yard sack. And with the Seahawks trying to lead for the touchdown, Williams sacked Wilson for a 10-yard loss on the third down with 48 seconds left, virtually ending Seattle’s chances of winning the game.

The NFL cited Williams again after the Giants’ 23-19 win over Dallas on Jan.3. In that game, he had seven tackles (five solo), a career-high 3.0 sacks for 20 yards, five quarterback hits and two critical presses in the Giants’ 23-19 win. At 1:53 to go, the Cowboys scored a first goal on the Giants 7-yard line when Williams sacked Andy Dalton for a 10-yard loss. Two games later, third of 17, Williams pressured Dalton to throw a pass that floated into the end zone, where rookie safety Xavier McKinney made an interception to save the game.

Williams, the sixth overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Jets, was acquired by the Giants on October 29, 2019 for a third round selection in the 2020 Draft and a fifth round this year.

Williams, 6-5 and 302 pounds, has played 95 career games with 87 starts for the Jets and Giants. His career total includes 323 tackles (164 solo), 29.0 sacks, 131 quarterback hits, 48 ​​tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovered, seven defenses and one interception.

[ad_2]

Source link