Miami Dolphins Top 25 players countdown: Connor Williams is No. 17
This is The Palm Beach Post’s Top 25 countdown of Dolphins players entering the 2022 season. We’ll reveal multiple players each week throughout the summer, as ranked by our reporters using a simple criterion: Who’s the better player right now?
Pro Football Focus says only 10 guards were better than Connor Williams in 2021.
Williams has spent most of his NFL career at guard. It’s a position where the Dolphins had a need when they signed him.
But there’s no guarantee that when the season opens, Williams will be at guard. Maybe he’ll be at tackle. Or center.
On a line whose situation is best described as fluid, Williams epitomizes it.
“It is still really open,” he said of his position shortly after signing. “After meeting the coaches and everything, they’ve seen my ability to play really any position. … They understand that I can probably play tackle, I can play center and so it’s really wherever I’m needed.”
Williams arrives from Dallas, which used him at left guard after drafting him in 2018 in the second round out of Texas, where he played left tackle.
Williams appeared in 57 games for the Cowboys, starting 51. He missed the final four games in 2019 after tearing his ACL but came back in 2020, starting every game.
Because Williams was only 21 when he was drafted, he has a mix of experience (entering fifth season) and youth (just turned 25).
More: Michael Deiter? Connor Williams? Dolphins face critical OL decision at center
Why we ranked Williams here
Williams is highly rated for his run-blocking despite being called for 11 holding penalties and 14 total penalties last season. He called it “a one-off year,” adding, “It’s not a reputation I’ve had in previous years.”
Williams was effective in pass protection as well, allowing two sacks and 15 hurries in 624 pass-blocking snaps — about half of what Austin Jackson gave up.
Where we see Williams headed
The Dolphins see Williams as a fit for Mike McDaniel’s outside-zone scheme. Williams agrees.
“I think one thing is clear is that was one of the best things we did in Dallas was coming off the ball running side to side, getting the D-line moving and getting the defense on their feet and then penetrating the defense with the run game," Williams said. "Once you get the defense on their heels, then you can get them in the air, you can dish it out and after talking to coach, you can tell his excitement in bringing this new zone scheme into Miami. That is part of the reason I’m here is to be part of that building block of starting a great zone scheme.”
Training camp will determine exactly where Williams best fits that scheme. The Cowboys tested Williams at center last summer before returning him to guard.
Hal Habib covers the Dolphins for The Post. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins Top 25 players countdown: Connor Williams is No. 17
