The New York Jets will have to do without the services of their prized free agent acquisition, as Revis continues to work his way back from a concussion. As a result, the Jets will turn to Marcus Williams, an undrafted cornerback out of North Dakota State. Interestingly Williams was with the Houston Texans in the 2014 pre-season, and despite being released in August 2014, he's a player that Mike Maccagnan must know quite well.
Jets head coach wasn't aware of Williams before arriving in New York, but it's been a pleasant surprise
"I did not know anything about him before I got here" Bowles explained. In two years with the Jets, Williams has started 10 games, and he's getting better and better. In 2015, Williams has appeared in 9 games, recording 21 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 8 pass defenses and 4 interceptions. Not bad for year 2 for an undrafted small school corner.
"He's been consistent from day one. When you put him in, he just makes plays. No matter how many plays he gets in there, the ball finds him. He makes plays, he's around the ball, he's poised, and he's very smart. You only have to tell him things once and he's been consistent since the day I met him" Bowles continued, obviously impressed with his stand in corner.
Williams has been the obvious #4 corner this year, but due to injuries, he's played significant minutes. Williams has played 389 snaps this year, around 100 snaps less than Buster Skrine. He's shown himself to be a playmaker, 4 interceptions in 389 snaps, that's impressive, however it's not surprising. Marcus Williams set the North Dakota State record for career interceptions with 21.
I'm not saying Marcus Williams is the second coming of Revis, he's still got a long way to go to touch that status. However he came into the league as an undrafted rookie, cut by his first team and with a chip on his shoulder. Everything we've asked him to do, he's done. He's given up touchdowns, most cornerbacks do at one point, but he's made more plays than he's given up.
"Again, he's got to work on his tackling. He got beat last week just like the rest of them. They're all playing about the same right now." Bowles stated. He does need to work on some things, but he'll do a job when his number is called, and it's getting called this weekend.