The New Orleans Saints value Marcus Williams; that message was sent loud and clear when they issued the franchise tag to the 24-year old safety just months after his strongest season in the NFL, or at least his best performance since his dynamic 2017 rookie year out of Utah. But when Touchdown Wire ranked the league’s 11 top safeties (plus eight honorable mentions), Williams was nowhere to be found. A charitable reading of that suggests Williams is, at best, ranks 20th among his beers.
It’s a heck of an oversight. Williams has bagged more regular season interceptions since he entered the league (13) than everyone on the list but Justin Simmons (No. 1), Tyrann Mathieu (No. 2), Harrison Smith (No. 9), Quandre Diggs (No. 11), and Jordan Poyer (an honorable mention), but ball skills weren’t the only factor considered (or else Kevin Byard, with 18 interceptions in that span, would have also earned a spot).
Williams has been dinged for his missed tackles, most infamously in the you-know-what, but the problem persisted until 2020 when he finally shored up his technique. He missed just three times on 62 attempts last season, per Pro Football Reference. You’d think that progress would have been noticed, but oh well.
Maybe Williams has to sign a big-money deal to get on national analysts’ radar. He’s in line for a payday, either in the next few weeks before a July 15 deadline to work out an extension or next spring should the Saints not use the franchise tag again. And he’s young enough to sign a $61 million deal like Simmons and get paid again before he turns 30. Whether he’s getting the offseason accolades or not, the Saints clearly value Williams, and he’s going to get his due — probably at the bank.
