New Orleans Saints: Analyzing the team’s debilitating pass-coverage woes

S Marcus Williams

To be fair, outside of an atrocious performance against the Packers (29.8 coverage grade), Williams has been at least average in every game this season.

Yet, for a player with multiple elite coverage seasons in his early career, it is fair to wonder where the 24-year-old’s high-end production has gone. When targeted this season, per Pro Football Focus, he is allowing a 120.5 passer rating, 90.9% completion percentage, 20.8 yards/reception, and has already been penalized a career-high three times.

Although you’d be expecting Williams to play more like himself in the future, it is worth noting he had just a 66 coverage grade last season.

Although that would not make him a weak link in the secondary by any means, that wouldn’t be the “premier safety” season he has had in the past. Considering that this is the final year of his contract, that is an interesting development.

Overall, Williams has sustained a high enough track record for me to not be overly concerned about him.

At the same time, that track record is only three seasons long, and unless he gets back to his peak form, New Orleans may decide against trying to squeeze him into their future budget, considering they have around $-80 million in cap space for next year.