The Buffalo Panthers. The Carolina Bills. The jokes are all around social media, but the truth is that Head Coach Sean McDermott and General Manager Brandon Beane really love them some of their former players, with offensive lineman Daryl Williams becoming the latest addition to the squad.
The former fourth-round pick from Oklahoma is an experienced and versatile player capable of playing on both sides of the offensive line, either as a tackle or a guard. He was voted a second team All-Pro in 2017, but he injured his knee in 2018’s season opener and was put on injured reserve. He came back in 2019 and played in all 16 games, starting 12.
OL Daryl Williams
Snaps by position
LT – 169
LG – 409
RG – 214
RT – 44Sacks surrendered by position:
LT – 5
LG – 2
RG – 4
RT – 1— Cover 1 (@Cover1) March 26, 2020
Williams started the season as Carolina’s starting left tackle, playing the first three games there and allowing five sacks, one QB hit, seven hurries, totaling 13 pressures allowed and one penalty, per Pro Football Focus. He was moved to left guard for the next four games and performed better there, allowing four sacks, one hit and two hurries (seven total pressures), not committing any penalties during this stretch.
He got benched for the next four games but still played in all of them, including 52 snaps at right tackle in week twelve. After this, the veteran was reinserted in the starting lineup as the left guard, playing the last six games of the season there and allowing just two sacks, no hits and 11 hurries (13 pressures), committing just one penalty in this period.
PFF's pass-blocking efficiency for Bills OTs in 2019 (25% of the snaps)
Dawkins – 96.1 (20th)
Nsekhe – 95.8 (26th)
Ford – 93.5 (62nd)
Williams – 90.9 (2017 95.2 33rd)"PBE measures pressure allowed on a per-snap basis with weighting toward sacks allowed."
— Cover 1 (@Cover1) March 27, 2020
Overall, it wasn’t a great year for Williams, who allowed 12 sacks and 35 pressures. He was rusty. After a year away from the field, starting the year at left tackle after playing the majority of his career on the right side didn’t help. However, he finished the season strong, not allowing any sacks or hits in the last four games. His two penalties in 838 total snaps shows how disciplined the veteran is, even playing in unfamiliar spots.
In Buffalo, Williams will be reunited with familiar faces in Beane and McDermott, and the pair should know how to maximize his strengths and minimize his weaknesses. I can see the former Panther battling for the starting right tackle job, where Ty Nsekhe and Cody Ford rotated in and out all year long in 2019. He can easily compete at both guard spots, too, where Quinton Spain and Jon Feliciano are the incumbent starters.
PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency for Bills OTs in 2019 (25% of the snaps)
Dawkins – 96.1 (20th)
Nsekhe – 95.8 (26th)
Ford – 93.5 (62nd)
Williams – 90.9 (2017 95.2 33rd)“PBE measures pressure allowed on a per-snap basis with weighting toward sacks allowed.”
— Cover 1 (@Cover_1_) March 27, 2020
Williams should be, at the very minimum, a reliable veteran option as a backup guard and RT. I don’t see his presence becoming a threat to Ty Nsekhe’s place on the roster, as the former Redskin looks like a better backup left tackle option in case something happens to Dion Dawkins. I can’t say the same about Spencer Long, though. The former New York Jet just had the option in his contract picked up by the team, but Williams’s presence, paired with Cody Ford and Ty Nsekhe’s versatility, could signify the end of the road for him as a Bill.
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