As a new-look New England Patriots season begins, some unexpected names stepped up on Sunday. Joejuan Williams, a 2019 second-round pick, was one of those players. Although his efforts may have not showed up on the stat sheet Sunday, he did some little things in what was a big divisional win.
In what is an already-deep Patriots secondary, Williams established himself as a tight end stopper. Patriots coach Bill Belichick took notice of this, and had high praise for Williams after the win. After not seeing the field much in 2019, Williams could parlay his big day on Sunday into something special moving forward.
Belichick was particularly impressed by the way Williams defended in pass-coverage and his physicality in doing so.
“He had a couple really good plays, big plays-a pass breakup on third down, had a good coverage there on the interception at the end of the game, kind of on the overthrow there.
“He took (Miami Dolphins tight end Mike) Gesicki away and couldn’t get the ball in there and J.C Jackson intercepted it. Gesicki, he’s a big receiver. I mean, he’s not really a conventional tight end, but he’s a tough matchup in the passing game, and felt like JoeJuan matched up against him and did a good job.”
With the Seattle Seahawks next on the schedule, Williams and the rest of the Patriots defense will have their hands full. If Williams can build off his performance from Sunday, that will set a positive trend heading into a tougher part of the schedule.
