Quincy Williams already has had a number of totally different chapters in his NFL profession.
He started it as a third-round choose of the Jaguars in 2019.
When Jacksonville reduce him, the Jets picked up him as a waiver declare in 2021.
He then blossomed right into a beginning linebacker for the Jets and an All-Professional in 2023.
Now, he’s starting a brand new chapter.
Williams has a brand new teaching employees, with head coach Aaron Glenn and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks taking up the Jets.
Williams spent 90 minutes on the cellphone with Glenn when he was employed, and the brand new coach gave Williams areas to enhance.
“Coach challenged me firstly,” Williams mentioned this week. “When he first bought the job, he gave me a name. We had an hour-and-a-half dialog simply on his imaginative and prescient and likewise me getting his imaginative and prescient to the gamers and stuff so we have been all on the identical web page. After which, he challenged me with a few issues to work on this offseason after which to indicate it through the season.”
Like practically each Jets defensive starter, it felt like Williams took a step again final season.
He nonetheless had 116 tackles and 4 compelled fumbles, however he didn’t have the identical impression he had in 2023.
Glenn didn’t reveal in what areas he challenged Williams, however he mentioned Williams has accepted the problem.
“I instructed Quincy when he first got here and met with me, there are some issues that I would like him to work on,” Glenn mentioned, “and he’s doing every part he can to get higher at these issues. Hear, I don’t mislead gamers, and he’s a extremely good participant, however there’s additionally some issues that he’s bought to get higher at, and he understands that.”
Glenn mentioned the way in which Williams reacted to his critiques confirmed him the linebacker will get it.
“That simply goes to indicate you the signal of a extremely, actually good participant as a result of they’re OK with criticism, and on this league, even one of the best gamers get criticized, however they wish to be, too, as a result of they wish to be higher,” Glenn mentioned. “And he’s a kind of guys that wishes to be higher. I pulled him in my workplace, instructed him some issues he’s started working on. He is aware of the issues he’s good at, and the issues he’s started working on, he’s doing every part he can to get higher at these issues.”
As loopy because it sounds, Williams is now one of many older gamers on the Jets after they pushed out many veterans.
He can be 29 years previous in August and is coming into the ultimate yr of his contract.
Williams mentioned he’s engaged on changing into extra of a frontrunner as a part of his areas of enchancment.
“The primary a part of it’s the one I’m engaged on proper now, being a frontrunner on the staff after which additionally being part of the inspiration of the staff, No. 1,” Williams mentioned. “No. 2 was actually simply getting the protection down pat to develop into that particular person the place I can have a look at the offense and fear about what the offense is doing and less of what are we doing or the place I match right into a protection.”
Throughout Williams’ first 4 years with the Jets, the chief on protection was fellow linebacker C.J. Mosley.
The Jets reduce Mosley this offseason, and now Williams should fill the void left by his departure.
Williams has been asking Mosley for recommendation.
“C.J. got here to my camp this weekend, so we had a dialog,” Williams mentioned. “Additionally, he’s nonetheless in New Jersey, so we’ve grabbed lunch a few instances. Proper now, it’s the mindset of selecting his mind on the right way to be extra of a frontrunner. When he got here to the Jets, to a brand new staff, he really sat out a yr. So it was like, ‘What are the issues that you just labored on to come back to a staff that you just actually didn’t know? How did you develop into a frontrunner to these guys?’ ”
