Getty Images Greedy Williams of the Cleveland Browns.
What’s in a name? Everything if your goal is to be a stud cornerback in the NFL. You don’t have to go too far down the Philadelphia Eagles’ roster to see the proof: Darius “Big Play” Slay has been a walking billboard for swagger since arriving in the league. Well, time to make room for one more swag-filled nickname in the cornerbacks room.
Greedy (real name: Andraez Montrell) Williams will be fighting for a significant role when Eagles’ training camp opens this summer. He could find himself as the starting nickel cornerback, or the primary backup behind Slay and James Bradberry. It’s too early to tell where he fits into new defensive coordinator Sean Desai’s plan.
What we do know is Williams’ confidence is off the charts, perhaps stemming from the “Greedy” nickname bestowed on him at an early age.
“Rest in peace to my aunt. She passed away in 2022,” Williams told reporters on March 21. “She gave me the name Greedy at a young age, six months, she said I was drinking a lot of milk, and she came up with Greedy-Deedee but my mom just left the Deedee off and it’s been Greedy ever since.”
Sound familiar? It should. It’s almost an identical story to the one LeSean “Shady” McCoy told about how he got his nickname. In Williams’ case, the “Greedy” nickname is perfect for a ball-hawking cornerback. It’s in the job description.
“You gotta get them picks, man,” Williams said. “That’s what we pushing for, keep that name alive, and make plays, and make the fans happy and make everybody happy.”
The Philadelphia Eagles’ current depth chart and contract situations at CB. 🔥
Darius Slay: 3 years, $42M / $23M G
James Bradberry: 3 years, $38-44M / $20M G
Avonte Maddox: 2 years, ~$7M remaining
Greedy Williams: 1 year, unknown
Creative nicknames have followed talented corners around for years, all the way back to “Revis Island” (Darrelle Revis) and “Prime Time” (Deion Sanders), then there is the new school led by Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and Derek “Little Sting” Stingley Jr. You can throw Jalen “Green Goblin” Mills into the mix, too.
Williams Moving On From ‘Rocky’ Cleveland Years
It hasn’t gone the way it was supposed to go for Williams after getting drafted 46th overall in 2019. The Browns thought the combination of Williams and Denzel Ward would be an elite cornerback tandem for years and years, but a pair of freak injuries halted that plan. Those four seasons in Cleveland were difficult.
“Rocky, a little bit. Just up and down years and things like that,” Williams said. “It’s just been a lot of up and down with me.”
Nerve damage from a shoulder injury cost him the entire 2020 campaign. A hamstring injury sidelined him for eight games in 2021. He has been slowly trying to work himself back into pre-draft form. Much like Rashaad Penny, the Eagles appealed to him as a place to restart his career.
“The perfect call came in at the perfect time and now I’m an Eagle,” Williams said. “A refresh and a restart. Whatever I can [do], that’s why I came here. I’m here to bring what I got.”
Bringing the energy
One thing he’s got is uncoachable speed (4.37 seconds in the 40), with the “talents and traits” to be a CB1. At 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, he is tall, long, and disruptive. The Eagles are going to find a way to get him on the field. It’s just a matter of when and where. Baby steps, for now.
“Lockdown, whatever, they know how to use me very well,” Williams said. “I got trust in the coaches and all those guys upstairs to put me in the right position.”
Williams told reporters that he spoke with new defensive coordinator Sean Desai and walked away feeling good about everything. He doesn’t know his role, only that he’ll have one. Other than that, he’s happy to be wearing midnight green.
“This is a winning culture,” Williams said. “They compete, and that’s where I want to be. That’s who I am, and that’s kind of where I came from, so that’s all I know.”
Greedy Williams live on Instagram live talking about JuJu Smith-Schuster
Slay Mentored Williams During 2019 NFL Draft
It wasn’t a long conversation but it was one that stuck with Williams. Slay, his new teammate in Philly, reached out to him on Twitter during the pre-draft process in 2019. Slay talked to him about the draft process and what to expect in the NFL. Williams never forgot the love shown by a two-time Pro Bowler (at the time) who was entering his seventh season.
“Slay was like a mentor coming out of pre-draft,” Williams said. “[We talked about the] draft process and things like that. We kind of chopped it up for a quick 30, 40 seconds. It wasn’t that long but I listened to what he told me.”