Listening to Adam Gase rave about Leonard Williams on Monday was reminiscent of the praise Rex Ryan once showered upon cornerback Darrelle Revis back in the day — much to the dismay of the Jets general manager at the time, Mike Tannenbaum, who was charged with signing Revis to his next contract.
Gase, the Dolphins head coach from 2016 through last season, spoke about how Williams, the Jets’ fifth-year defensive lineman, wrecked his Miami defense every time the teams met.
“I don’t know what it was when he played us, but it was a nightmare,’’ Gase said. “The whole game plan was based around him until [safety] Jamal [Adams] came [last season] and then it was both of those guys. Every play we tried to double him, whether it was pass protection, run game, and it never seemed to matter. We could never run the football against him ever. He was an absolute nightmare for us. I don’t know if he turned it up another notch when he played against us, but he was problematic.’’
Gase hopes Williams is as problematic for opposing defenses this season, which is a distinct possibility with the addition of new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and first-round draft pick Quinnen Williams.
Gregg Williams’ aggressive schemes will be centered around trying to get Leonard Williams free of double-teams to rush the passer, and Quinnen Williams’ presence on the line also will hopefully help in that regard.
“That’s part of the plan,’’ Gase said of having Leonard Williams, the sixth-overall pick in 2015, playing alongside Quinnen Williams, the third-overall pick in April. “The more Quinnen plays, hopefully the more attention he gets. And if Leonard gets one-on-ones, that’s ideal for us.’’
It all has potential to set Leonard Williams up to have his most productive season, which would lead to many millions of dollars when his contract expires after this season.
Williams, 25, is a curious case in that it’s difficult to criticize him, because he’s had a nice, productive career and always has been a team guy who does the right things. But when you’re chosen with the sixth-overall pick, “nice, productive’’ isn’t enough. There’s something about Williams, whose effort has never been lacking, that confounds you because you feel like there should be more production, more sacks.
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Granted, by position — he plays on the interior — Williams is not a classic edge rusher charged only with getting after the quarterback and he is a stout run-stopper. But 17 career sacks in four seasons simply doesn’t seem like enough.
Oddly, in the six games in which Williams played against Gase’s Dolphins, the Jets lost five of them and he didn’t record a single sack. Williams had 24 tackles, six for losses, and had seven quarterback hits. But Williams has never delivered the gaudy statistics people look for out of a disruptive defensive lineman.
That’s something he hopes to change in 2019.
“We all like to say numbers don’t matter, but they do,’’ Williams conceded. “People look at those. And with [Gregg] Williams coming in and seeing the success he’s had in his past … he definitely finds ways to free guys up and put you in your best position.’’
Leonard Williams said he hasn’t spoken to his agent or the Jets front office about a new deal yet.
“I’ve come here not to focus on that, I came here to get better with my team and see where that goes,’’ he said. “Something I love about Coach Gase and what he says all the time is,
‘Be where your feet are at. Don’t worry about yesterday, don’t worry about tomorrow.’ ’’
Williams, who’s making $14.2 million in 2019 in the final year of his five-year, $32 million rookie contract, did, however, say that the prospect of landing a mega-contract with a career season in a contract year “definitely is something that’s motivation.’’
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The highest-paid interior linemen are the Rams’ Aaron Donald, who’s averaging $22.5 million per year and scored $86 million in guarantees, the Eagles’ Fletcher Cox, who’s averaging $17 million and got $63 million in guarantees, and the Falcons’ Grady Jarrett, who’s averaging $17 million and got $42.5 million guaranteed.
Williams made it clear he wants to remain with the Jets.
“I love it here, I’m comfortable here,’’ he said. “I’ve been here five years now, I definitely wouldn’t want to uproot myself, go somewhere else and meet all new teammates and coaches, a whole new neighborhood. I definitely want to stay where I got drafted.’’
That, of course, will be largely up to him.
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