New York Jets DT Quinnen Williams shreds Las Vegas Raiders offensive line (Film)

Las Vegas' offensive line had absolutely no answer for Quinnen Williams, who continues to establish himself as a top-5 interior defensive lineman. Without much of a debate, the hottest defensive lineman in football right now is Quinnen Williams. He leads all interior defensive linemen in both pressures (20) and stops (12) over the past three weeks. Williams posted six pressures and three stops against the Raiders, his third consecutive game with a combined total of at least nine plays made between those two categories. That's an absurd feat. For comparison, Aaron Donald leads all IDL with an average of 7.8 pressures-plus-stops per game this season. So, in each of his past three games, Williams has essentially played above the typical Donald level. Williams ranks fourth at his position in combined pressures, stops, and pass breakups with 61 this season, a total that trails only Donald (82), Stephon Tuitt (67) and Grady Jarrett (64). This past Sunday, Las Vegas' interior offensive line struggled mightily to contain Williams, who blew up a massive number of plays in both phases. Film Williams has grown into a player who is a thrill to watch on film. He's consistently making blockers look downright foolish, single-handedly winning plays for the defense through dominant one-on-one victories. From the 3/4i-tech spot, Williams takes on the left guard. Williams gets his inside hand into the LG's chest to create penetration. On the outside arm, Williams catches the LG's hand to prevent contact. Williams rips through with his inside arm and detaches his outside hand from the LG's grip, turning the corner to get an angle on Carr. The LG is left tumbling into the turf. While Williams is unable to get a hit or sack as the right tackle is knocked into him from behind, Williams' quick pressure forces Derek Carr to rush the ball out from a congested pocket, and he misses the throw. Williams' range is one of the unique abilities he brings to the table. Not many interior linemen can chase down plays from sideline-to-sideline as consistently as Williams does. From the 4i-tech on the back-side, situated directly in-between the hashes, Williams dodges the cut block and darts all the way to the sideline to deliver a crushing hit on Devontae Booker. Quinnen manages to hit the quarterback on a quick-release, 3-step drop. From the 2i-tech, Williams sets up the LG outside before using a club move with his inside arm to work back inside, getting to Carr and knocking him down on a pass that was released only about 2.2 seconds after the snap. Williams takes on veteran center Rodney Hudson from the 1-tech position. Hudson has allowed a 2.5% pressure rate this season, 12th-best among centers - and this is the worse season of his career. He has easily been the game's best pass-protecting center since entering the league in 2011. Williams catches Hudson with a high-and-wide punch, so he uses his outside arm to forklift Hudson's arm upwards, opening up space to rip his inside arm underneath. Williams slices upwards to disengage Hudson, turning the corner to get an angle on Carr through the A-gap. Carr is forced to rush the ball out off of his back foot, and he misses an open man. What impresses me most about that play is the violence of Williams' rip. He brings his inside arm through so sharply. It's just one swift, strong, compact motion. His technique is on another level right now. Despite his much-improved production this season, Williams has still been frequently used on stunts throughout the year. Even on those plays, he is finding ways to make a profound impact. From the 1-tech here, Williams rushes the A-gap and completely overpowers Hudson. This draws help from the LG, which opens up room for John Franklin-Myers to loop through the B-gap untouched for the hit on Carr. Here, Williams takes advantage of the time afforded by solid coverage to pick up a sack on third-and-18. From the nose, Williams sells to his right before pulling out and allowing Neville Hewitt to rush the center, looping over to rush through the A-gap on the offense's right side. There, Williams draws a highly favorable matchup against the running back (Jalen Richard), which he uses to his advantage. Williams tosses Richard out of the way a couple of times and maintains his balance following a shove from the right guard, eventually finding his way to Carr for the sack. Credit to Jordan Jenkins for forcing Carr to step up. Williams lines up at the 4i-tech and takes on the LG. Williams takes a patient approach and waits for the hands from the LG. When the LG throws his hands, Williams forklifts them upwards, opening the gate for him to easily work through the B-gap for quick pressure. Carr is able to get the ball out to Darren Waller for a big gain as Ashtyn Davis is beaten quickly, but it takes nothing away from Williams' effort. This is a sack with better coverage. Forceful run stop here from Williams. From the 1-tech, Williams holds his position and takes on the LG, who blocks down. Williams extends his arms and gets them into the LG's body, keeping himself distanced so he can read the play and react accordingly. Williams initially plays the A-gap to his left, but when he sees the RB dart to his right, he tosses the LG inside and disengages, working over to the B-gap. Williams propels himself forward and fires off his back foot, driving his shoulder into the RB's body for a powerful diving tackle. No gain on first down for Theo Riddick. Here, Williams makes a huge play that represents a major turning point of the game. On fourth-and-3 from the Jets' 9-yard line with 1:49 to go, Las Vegas scores a go-ahead touchdown, but Williams' work negates it. From the 1-tech spot, Williams engages the center before looping to his left, with Franklin-Myers crashing down in the A-gap. Franklin-Myers does an excellent job of two things - one, his strong penetration allows Williams to get deep into the backfield, and two, he holds the RG in check for a long time, making it difficult for him to switch onto Williams. When Williams reaches the RG, he takes advantage of the situation set up for him by Franklin-Myers. Williams swims over the RG with ease to create an angle for a sack. This draws a holding penalty from the RG, which cancels out the eventual touchdown pass by Carr, forcing a replay of the down. Putting together such a huge reel of impressive plays in one game has become the norm for Williams. It is no longer notable when he has a game of this caliber - and that is what you expect from a player when you take him with the third overall pick. Williams is fully living up to his draft slot.