New Orleans Saints: Handing out year-end awards for Saints
By Drake Lohse
Defensive MVP
Marcus Williams
It’s hard to ignore Cam Jordan, who was number three in the league with 15.5 sacks and capable of creating big plays at just the right moment. It was a Jordan sack that ended the Thanksgiving game against the Falcons and clinched the NFC South.
For all 15.5 sacks, Jordan and a daunting Saints defensive line kept quarterbacks on their heels and halfbacks dizzy all season long. But without a prowling secondary to take advantage of the flustered quarterback’s rushed decisions, a healthy pass rush falls flat.
The Saints haven’t had a consistent force in the secondary since Darren Sharper. Roman Harper was a hard-hitting, police-like presence, but no Saints safety has been able to create turnovers in such a short time like Marcus Williams has done throughout his time with the Saints.
In Williams, the Saints finally have an intimidating presence on the backend of their defense.
Williams finished 2019-2020 with four interceptions and one returned touchdown. His pick of DeShaun Watson in week one helped set the tone, and against the Cowboys, the first game without Drew Brees, it was Williams who clinched the 12-10 win by picking Dak Prescott.
Quietly, Williams has more than made up for his critical blown block in the Minnesota Miracle game. His 10 career interceptions already rank 16th in franchise history, and he has more career interceptions than any active Saint.