Darious Williams was viewed as an underrated member of the Los Angeles Rams’ secondary when Jalen Ramsey was also patrolling the defensive backfield at cornerback. Williams may not have been a household name during his first stint with the Rams, but he was still such an integral part of the defense.
Now he’s back and ready to pick up where he left off in Los Angeles. After being cut by the Jaguars this offseason, he has a lot to prove and will help lead a secondary that also features Tre’Davious White and Kamren Curl.
Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire picked every team’s most underrated player heading into the 2024 season and Williams was his selection for the Rams.
Williams is built like a slot-only cornerback at 5-foot-9 and 187 pounds, but he’s been a great outside cornerback for years, and that was just as true in 2023, when he allowed 51 catches on 86 targets for 613 yards, 178 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, four interceptions, 18 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 69.6. Through his NFL career, Williams has allowed 10 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, and has a lifetime opponent passer rating of 76.7. It’s safe to say that nobody expected that when he came out of college.
Williams is undersized but he excels as an outside cornerback, as Farrar mentioned. The Jaguars played him out of position at times in the last two seasons but now that he’s back in L.A., he should fit back in seamlessly at the boundary corner position opposite White.
The Rams gave him a $22.5 million contract this offseason so he didn’t exactly come cheap, but he should be a worthwhile addition to the defense.