Patriots cornerback Joejuan Williams is presently a longshot to earn a place on New England’s 53-man roster, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. Given the uncertainty surrounding the club’s cornerback room, failing to make the cut would be rather damning for Williams.
In his weekly piece touching on 10 topics concerning the Patriots — in which he cites a subscription-only article he published after mandatory minicamp in June — Reiss examines the shortcomings of the Pats’ 2019 draft class. That group sustained another blow earlier this week when the team traded its first pick in that year’s draft, wide receiver N’Keal Harry, to the Bears in exchange for a 2024 seventh-rounder. Williams, the No. 45 overall pick in 2019, could be next up on the chopping block.
New England moved up 13 spots to nab Williams, doing so with the belief that his size (6-3, 212) would allow him to match up well with larger receivers and tight ends. That has not, unfortunately, proven to be the case.
After appearing in just 80 defensive snaps in his rookie season, Williams took a step forward in terms of playing time in each of the next two years, but that did not come with a corresponding improvement in play. In 2021, the Vanderbilt product saw action in 35% of the Patriots’ defensive snaps in the regular season, but he was also deactivated for five games — including three of the final four contests of the regular season — and struggled mightily in his two starts.
One of those starts came in the team’s wildcard round loss to the Bills, and Williams was inserted into the lineup for that game only because Jalen Mills had landed on the COVID-19 list. In New England’s 47-17 drubbing at the hands of its division rival, Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen completed four of the five passes he threw in Williams’ direction, racking up 72 yards and a TD. That performance is emblematic of Williams’ struggles as a whole throughout his pro career, as he has allowed opposing passers to generate a 113.4 QB rating and has yet to record an interception (h/t Bernd Buchmasser of PatsPulpit.com).
Plus, after carving out a role as a core special-teamer in 2020, Williams also saw a lessened workload on the Pats’ third unit, appearing in just 25% of the club’s ST snaps in 2021 after posting a 47% number the year before. All told, he certainly looks like a player on the wrong side of the roster bubble.
As noted above, however, the Patriots’ cornerback contingent is not exactly a top-flight crew, with Mills, Malcolm Butler, Terrance Mitchell, and fourth-round rookie Jack Jones penciled in as the top boundary corners. Jones may well find himself in the starting lineup sooner rather than later, and a strong training camp could allow Williams to force his way back into the picture in Foxborough. Even if that does not happen, his draft pedigree should allow him to find another opportunity on a team that believes his potential can be unlocked with a change of scenery.
I’m amazed he’s still with the team. Another of BB’s terrible 2nd round DB picks.
Right. They should just let you make all the draft picks!
Gee you sure told me off. Critiquing draft picks on a comment board. The very idea. You likely haven’t a clue on BB’s 2nd round draft history.
This would be rather damning for Williams, given the opening up of snaps that should have come with Jackson’s departure. Williams has disappointed, but the Patriots need bodies at that spot. If Williams is cut and they are forced to sign a street FA, it would be very a very bad look for his future prospects.
The fact that the team activated a street FA for a late season game while Williams remained a healthy scratch was already a bad look for his future prospects.