Milton Williams is hoping to breakout on a crowded Eagles defensive line
If nothing changed on the Philadelphia Eagles roster between now and the beginning of training camp, they’re set to walk into competition and workouts with seven defensive ends, seven defensive tackles, and Kentavius Street. The latter is listed as a ‘defensive lineman’ on the official team roster. You probably don’t need to be told this, but even though we all have identified a lock or two at every position, no one is one hundred percent certain of what the initial 53-man game-day roster will look like. There are always a few surprises. Milton Williams is hoping that he can be one of them.
A third-round draft choice in 2021, we haven’t talked about the former Louisiana Tech Bulldog as of late. It isn’t because he isn’t talented. It’s more because the Eagles are loaded with bodies, but as he enters year three, two questions are being asked more frequently:
- What type of role will the six-foot-three, 290-pounder have in Sean Desai’s unit?
- Is there any way that he gets left off of the roster?
In consecutive years, the Eagles have selected interior defensive linemen in Round 1. It’s getting relatively crowded in Tracy Rocker’s meeting room.
There is still hope for Milton Williams to become a star on the Eagles’ defense, but he is going to have to show off and prove himself in a hurry.
We mentioned the crowded interior of the Eagles’ defensive line earlier. Here’s a look at everyone listed at the defensive tackle position on the 90-man roster.
- Fletcher Cox
- Jordan Davis
- Jalen Carter
- Milton Williams
- Marlon Tuipulotu
- Moro Ojomo
- Noah Elliss
We again mention Kentavius Street. It’s believed that he may possess the skill set to play inside and outside in Sean Desai’s scheme, but that was what we also heard about Williams in Jonthan Gannon’s scheme too. Proceed with caution.
As far as Milton Williams is concerned, he has been on the field for 851 defensive snaps and another 120 on special teams during his first two seasons as a professional. That has resulted in 66 tackles, four pass breakups, and six sacks. He is also credited with 12 additional quarterback hits and 22 hurries over that span.
In his 2021 pre-draft profile of the young man, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein graded him at 6.25, meaning he’d eventually be an ‘average starter’. PhillyVoice‘s Jimmy Kempski listed him as a breakout candidate for the 2023 regular season recently along with Nakobe Dean, Kordan Davis, Cam Jurgens, and Britain Covey. Here’s some of what Kempski stated on that front.
"Williams was a potential breakout candidate in 2022 as a second-year player, but he got off to a slow start. Through the first five games, he had seven tackles and no sacks. During the back half of the season, however, Williams seemed to make an impressive play or two in every game. He finished the season with 36 tackles (nine for loss), 4 sacks, and 2 batted passes on just 395 snaps. There wasn’t a single game in 2022 in which Williams played at least half of the Eagles’ defensive snaps. By comparison, Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave were each up over 700 snaps apiece."
Philadelphia at one point or another carried a lot of guys at the defensive tackle position. The questions are about how many they’ll carry on the roster this season. Four or five sounds ideal… maybe. Is there any chance that they’d carry six? That seems like a large number, but Fletcher Cox, though he’ll make the roster, isn’t what he once was.
Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis will make the roster. Philly likes Tuipulotu, but one has to wonder if he’d be left off of the roster as well. Throw in mentions of rookie Moro Ojomo and Noah Elliss, and things truly get complicated.
After Javon Hargrave was lost to free agency, it felt like Milton Williams was given an opportunity, but the former La Tech Bulldog is starting up at the depth chart toward those Bulldogs from Georgia. Winning playing time if he makes the roster won’t be easy.
As of right now, there’s no reason to kick Williams off of the roster yet. If he’s to finally enjoy a breakout season, he needs to get off to a better start in 2023 than he did the last time we saw him. Every snap is crucial, and pro football is an impatient business.