Getty Los Angeles Rams quarterback Baker Mayfield celebrates a comeback victory in Week 14.
The Kansas City Chiefs had an under-the-radar debut in Week 14, veteran defensive tackle Brandon Williams.
After signing with the franchise on November 29, Williams first joined the practice squad and really only took his place on the active roster just before the following weekend in Denver. That’s a small amount of work inside the Chiefs system considering he played 15 snaps against the Broncos.
Despite all of that, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo praised the newcomer today on December 15.
Chiefs Coach Likens New Defender to Rams’ Baker Mayfield
During his Week 15 press conference, Spagnuolo had an interesting comparison for the recent feat that Williams was able to accomplish.
“Really impressed with [Williams],” the Chiefs DC began, adding abruptly: “It’s kind of like Baker Mayfield, right?”
“Brandon [Williams] was only here three days or whatever,” Spagnuolo explained, “and he did an admirable job. What he still can do as a D-lineman is knock somebody back, he really helped us on the goal line.”
In case you missed it, Mayfield quarterbacked the Los Angeles Rams to a primetime victory last Thursday night after only joining their organization a couple of days before that — so this is a bit of a stretch from Spagnuolo but it’s still an intriguing compliment for the veteran.
Keep in mind, Williams is a 33-year-old who had already played in this league for nine years. That’s a lot of wear and tear! The vet stepping right in after a full offseason spent on the sidelines not only shows that he’s in shape, but it also proves that he can still hold his own against younger athletes.
Welcome to the #Chiefs Brandon Williams (@BrandonW_66) — the former Missouri Southern State Lion came in, learned as much as he could quickly and got a 1/2 sack vs. the Broncos in 15 snaps. The STL area native is happy to play closer to home.
According to Pro Football Focus, Williams registered a half-sack and one quarterback hit off 12 pass-rushing snaps. That was where he was utilized most, with two reps on run defense and one dropping back in coverage.
“I was real impressed with how he picked it up,” Spagnuolo concluded, “[he’s a] true pro.”
Khalen Saunders Out-Snaps Derrick Nnadi vs Broncos
It was a solid audition for the defensive reinforcement, but the real storyline at D-tackle was Khalen Saunders out-snapping Derrick Nnadi.
Fans and analysts have questioned the play of Nnadi all season, while Saunders has had a breakout campaign in year four. Up until recently, however, the former would still either play more or about the same amount as Saunders.
In Denver, Nnadi did technically start but Saunders finally received more reps — and it wasn’t even close.
Per PFF, Saunders’ 34 defensive snaps all came on the interior in the B-gap, while Nnadi logged 23 in the same positional alignment and one snap over the A-gap. Williams was also given one as a true nose tackle over the A-gap, 13 in the B-gap, and one over the offensive tackle.
It’s an interesting rotation considering Chris Jones and Mike Danna move all over the defensive line and play two or three roles each game. Then you have more of the true edge rushers — Frank Clark, George Karlaftis and Carlos Dunlap — who line up mostly outside the tackles.
If Williams can continue to provide more of a boost on the interior than Taylor Stallworth had previously been doing, Spagnuolo and the Chiefs might be able to shore up a weak point heading into the postseason. That’s the hope, at least.
Either way, this certainly feels like a positive development for Kansas City’s defense and the more the veteran gets acclimated, the more he should be able to contribute moving forward. We’ll see what Williams is able to do against the Houston Texans in Week 15.