Ravens Brandon Williams excited be back in his ‘natural habitat’ at nose tackle
The Baltimore Ravens reshaped and remodeled the interior of their defensive line this offseason by trading for Calais Campbell, signing Derek Wolfe, and drafting rookies Justin Madubuike and Broderick Washington Jr. They got more athletic at both defensive end and defensive tackle and since they let Michael Peirce walk in free agency, it allows a slenderer Brandon Williams heading into his eighth season to return to what he believes to be his “natural habit” at nose tackle.
“I’m pretty much back home, playing what I know, playing what I’m naturally used to doing all the time,” said Williams when asked about going back to his natural position this season.
Williams and Pierce formed the best interior run-stuffing tandem in the league during their time together from 2016-2019. The Ravens drafted Williams in the third round out of Division II Missouri Southern in 2013 to play nose tackle and that’s where made a name for himself playing alongside franchise legend Haloti Ngata for his first two years in the league.
Following Pierce’s rookie season, he slid over to the defensive tackle spot which is referred to as the left defensive end spot in Baltimore’s 3-4 hybrid scheme. Now that Pierce is in Minnesota with the Vikings paired with the two new veteran additions that the team acquired this offseason; Williams will be counted on to be the anchor in the middle of the interior once again.
While he had no problem playing three-technique lining up over guards the last three years, Williams admitted that he is much more comfortable lining up at the zero-technique spot where goes head up with the opposing team’s center where he believes he can be the most disruptive.
“I’m back in my natural habitat,” Williams continued. “I’m ready to take on double teams, go against centers again, wreak havoc in the middle.”
Williams has never recorded more than a pair of sacks in a single season which he did just once back in 2015 and has logged just one in three of the last four seasons—he recorded zero in 12 games in 2017. He’s improved at collapsing the pocket up the middle over his career, but he could be poised to have a career year as a pass rusher with the presence of Wolfe and Campbell on either side of him.
The return of Williams to his natural nose tackle position should help the Ravens improve their run defense as a whole as well. While he and Pierce were an elite run-stuffing tandem when they were both on the field, Williams was at his best stuffing the run during his first three years as a starter where he recorded 151 combined tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, eight quarterback hits, and 3.5 sacks.
After he kicked out to defensive end/tackle, his production took a dip with 98 combined tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, eight quarterback hits, and two sacks in the last three seasons. The Ravens allowed a franchise-high 4.4 yards per carry last season and have allowed seven more touchdowns in the three years since Williams made the switch than they gave up in the three years prior.
Williams’ presence in the interior has been vital when it comes to defending the run since he’s been a starter. His absence when he’s missed games due to injury has been painfully noticeable even when Pierce was healthy. While Campbell and Wolfe are just as dominant against the run as they are rushing the passer, having ‘Big Baby’ back in his natural spot clogging up holes and gobbling up multiple blockers at a time will help return their run defense return to their former glory as long as the edge setters do their part.
