FILE – New York Jets’ Quinnen Williams speaks to reporters after a practice at the NFL football team’s training facility in Florham Park, N.J., May 24, 2022. Williams and the Jets have agreed, Thursday, July 13, 2023, to a four-year contract extension worth $96 million, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
FLORHAM PARK — The New York Jets have one of the best defenses in the NFL this season and that’s with their First-Team All-Pro defensive tackle not putting up the same kind of production from last year.
Quinnen Williams may not have the same type of sack total (.5 sacks) as last season’s pace in which he finished with 13 from the interior, but he’s still been a dominant presence for Gang Green’s top unit.
“I think sack production is a very overrated stat,” Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Wednesday. “It’s not an indicative number. When you look at Quinnen, teams are going out of their way to gameplan to take him out of a game. He’s still wrecking run games. He’s top-five in every statistical category. He’s just not getting the sack production. Teams have to pick their poison. Quinnen is a top-five defensive player in all of football.”
Saleh’s comments about his top defensive player certainly have merit. According to ESPN, Williams is the only defensive tackle who has been double-teamed over 70% of the team and yet is tied for seventh in the league in pass rush win rate. His 90.0 Pro Football Focus rating in 2023 is graded out as “elite” and the third-best score among all interior defensive tackles in the league.
Because of Williams’ impact on the field, the Jets have also seen an increase in production from edge rushers such as Jermaine Johnson and Bryce Huff.
With Williams commanding a double-team along the interior of the line, Huff (five sacks) and Johnson (4.5 sacks) are enjoying career seasons between them for the Jets. That’s in large part due to the…
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