It didn’t take long for Marcus Williams to settle into his new home as the star safety is already making big plays for the Baltimore Ravens early in the season.
Williams, who the Ravens acquired via free agency back in March, could have been considered one of the more unexpected moves of the offseason, yet he’s getting his Ravens career off to a solid start.
Baltimore signed Williams to a relatively affordable five-year contract worth $70 million; given Williams’ age, talent, and immediate impact in Week 1, that deal is already paying off.
In the Ravens’ thrashing of the New York Jets, Williams recorded a team-high 12 tackles along with one pass defended and one interception.
After the game, Williams brushed off his impressive performance and said, “it’s just what I do.”
Marcus Williams on notching an INT in his first game as a Raven: "It feels good. It's something I do all the time, so I'm not really surprised at myself. You may be surprised, but it's just what I do."
— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) September 11, 2022
Marcus Williams is set to become one of Ravens’ most valuable defenders
Week 1 provided a glimpse at how Mike Macdonald would incorporate the team’s elite secondary pieces, and Williams ended up being paired with Kyle Hamilton as the two deep safeties.
The fact that the Jets didn’t log any significant yardage plays behind the Ravens defense suggests that both Williams and Hamilton did a picture-perfect job of locking down the backfield.
Williams developed a bit of a reputation on his former team, the New Orleans Saints, for missing tackles, but he looked strong in pass coverage this game and added a vital ballhawk-ing element to the defense.
With interception artist Marcus Peters still rehabbing his ACL, Williams got a pick of his own by snagging Joe Flacco’s poorly executed throw in the first quarter. Williams nearly returned it for a defensive touchdown, but the play ended in a Baltimore field goal.
Williams is well on his way to becoming one of the team’s most prized defenders as he enters the prime of his career, and his sparkling Week 1 debut should vanquish all doubts about his assimilation into the Ravens’ scheme.
This year’s defense will be exciting to watch.