Baltimore Ravens nose tackle Brandon Williams has flown under the radar ever since he was selected in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft. Williams went to an under the radar school at Missouri State Southern University as well. Despite the Ravens defense holding the longest NFL streak of going 28 straight games without allowing a 100 yard rusher, Williams seldom gets talked about. That will soon change during the 2015 season.
The Ravens know who Williams is. They know Williams so much that they decided to trade away the anchor for the Ravens defensive line for almost a decade in nose tackle Haloti Ngata to the Detroit Lions earlier in the offseason. Williams understands that he has big responsibilities to fill having to be a walking double team against an opposing center and an opposing left or right guard.
Williams had his opportunity late last season to get a head start on anchoring the defense for years to come when Ngata was suspended for the final four games of the regular season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. The Ravens defense during those four games didn't skip much of a beat. The Ravens in recent years have gone towards the youth movement across the board and Williams is showing that their decision is paying dividends.
Williams holds so many of his teammates fate in his hands. Williams has the responsibility of freeing up space in the middle of the front seven for inside linebackers such as C.J. Mosley and Darryl Smith in the Ravens 3-4 defense. Williams has the responsibility of setting the tone on first down. Williams has the responsibility of holding his own on obvious passing down situations during an opponent offense's no huddle when he can't go to the bench.
All of those things are responsibilities that Ngata had to do and do well in his time with the Ravens. Williams will get his shot to be the next great anchor on a well established defense.