Pros and Drawbacks of Darious Williams signing with the Lions

Why the Lions might be a nice fit for Darious Williams.

The Detroit Lions have risen from the NFC North cellar to the summit quite rapidly.

Dan Campbell swiftly revitalized the organization by guiding the squad to back-to-back winning seasons after his team finished 3-13-1 in his debut season. The Lions lost the NFC Championship game in 2023, just short of earning a spot in the Super Bowl.

The franchise now has the means to bring in the personnel it needs to contend for the Super Bowl in 2024. The cornerback spot is one area where the club needs to improve.

Prior to the commencement of free agency, the Jacksonville Jaguars released cornerback Darious Williams on Tuesday, providing the organization with a possible solution.

Since joining the league in 2018, Williams, an outside corner, has shown himself to be a muscular defender and a ball-hawk. He appears to mesh well with defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn’s approach and has ties to the team.

Williams is a seasoned player who has had great success recently. Only defensive end Josh Allen was rated higher by Pro Football Focus last year, and he was Jacksonville’s second-best defender. Along with 19 passes defensed last year, he also recorded four interceptions.

With ten career interceptions, the UAB graduate has demonstrated a takeaway-generating skill that the Lions really value.

However, his physicality didn’t receive a good score in 2023. He had a PFF run-defense grade of just 29.9 and a tackling grade of 58.0 at the end of the season. For a defense that longs to be a consistent threat in the run game, these are not the best ratings.