FOXBOROUGH - What can Kyle Williams do for this Patriots offense? After the team added A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs, his path to more playing time hit a roadblock that’s unlikely to change (barring injury). His training camp has been uneven, and some days go by where he’s quiet. Too quiet.
However, in the preseason opener Thursday night - albeit against backups - Williams’ strengths shined through, as did his weaknesses. He finished with 2 catches on three targets for 37 yards, playing only in the opening half. His head coach, Mike Vrabel, made sure to poke back at last week's conversation surrounding Williams and his role on the team.
“Oh yeah, you guys were all laughing at me when I told you the other day,” he said, referencing Williams having a role on the team. “But no, you just keep chipping away at it and keep progressing and keep learning and working hard. The guys all understand. The guys in the receiver room, those guys are the first guys down there to celebrate his success, and I think that that's what you want to see: guys that keep working and progressing and then see it translate into the football game.”
The obvious place to start with Williams’ night was on the game’s first touchdown. It came in the second quarter, and it was basically a carbon copy of what he’s done to Pats cornerbacks during camp. Poor Johnathan Edwards. The second-year defender allowed Williams to have a clean release, and then when he tried to get hands on within that five-yard window, Williams hit him with the okie doke, jabbing inside before crossing over to get to around Edwards’ outside shoulder. From there, it was an easy pitch and catch for a 12-yard touchdown.
“I can’t wait to go back and watch that,” Efton Chism said. “I heard he really got him.”
It was an eventful first half for Williams. He drew a defensive pass interference on the very first third down of the game, with cornerback Mekhi Blackmon feeling the need to grab Williams’ inside arm, then the jersey. That resulted in a 9-yard penalty and a first down on a drive that ended with a field goal.
He showed up again late in the second quarter. The Pats had the ball with 59 seconds at their own 32-yard line. They needed a drive starter, and Williams provided that. He convinced the corner he was going vertical, then stopped on a dime, driving hard toward the sideline. Tommy DeVito hit him on the break, and Williams shrugged off a tackle to pick up 25 yards before getting out of bounds.
DeVito went back to the Williams well on the very next play and had he thrown a better ball, it could have easily been the second TD of the second-year pro’s night. He once again won on the outside and easily stacked the defender, but the ball was underthrown.
Here’s the problem from Williams’ perspective. He never made an effort to stop and come back to the ball. Had he, it would likely have resulted in a DPI, a first down, and the Pats in comfortable field-goal range. Instead, it was the first of three straight incompletes and a punt.
“The defender wasn't playing the football, and as grossly underthrown as that ball was, still we want to try to make an attempt to come back and understand the rules and how they're calling it,” Vrabel said. “If the defender's not playing the ball, let's see if we can't go back and get a cheap one and try to create some contact if they're not playing the ball.”
And there’s the Williams conundrum. There are moments where you can see why Vrabel says he’s a part of the plan. But at some point - and again, he’s still young - Williams needs to show he’s more than just a one-trick pony. Because while he may be stronger and more detailed, his route tree remains limited, and when defenders get hands on him, he struggles to break that contact. Time and experience can help, but Williams will have to find a level of both physical and mental consistency that has eluded him in his year-plus in the system.
(**Williams was not available to talk to the media postgame**)
(Paul Johnson for BSJ
Gabe Jacas
UNEVENTFUL
Meanwhile, second-round pick Gabe Jacas drew the start as both Dre’Mont Jones and Elijah Ponder had the night off. He has been getting some reps with the first team as the Pats try to fast-track his development following a lost offseason, and Vrabel had him out there for all but two defensive snaps in the first half.
It was more miss than hit for the rookie. Quarterback Anthony Richardson twice victimized him on option runs, the first going for 22 yards. Jacas had bad eyes on the play, crashing down to help create a massive void on the offense’s left side.
“Just got to be more patient on that to help out on that zone read,” Jacas told me. “But you know, (that was a) good play by him.”
It happened again later in the half, though Richardson only went for 7 yards. But had Jacas handled his business, there wouldn’t have been nearly as much daylight.
Jacas also got walled off by 180-pound wide receiver Deion Burks down near the goal line. That helped spring the back for seven yards (although Richardson fumbled the QB sneak a play later).
Other than those few plays, Jacas did his job in the run game, setting a solid edge a couple of times. He used an inside move to beat the tackle, cause some havoc at the line of scrimmage, and help hold the running back, Seth McGowan, to a 3-yard gain.
“It’s the first of many,” Jacas said. “Gotta learn from the tape and be a sponge.”
As for Jacas’ pass rush, I had him for one pressure. It came via power against the right tackle, Jalen Travis, who is listed as the Colts starter. He was able to use his arm length and strength to put Travis into Richardson’s air space. That contributed to a somewhat misplaced throw that went through the receiver’s hands and got intercepted by Kindle Vildor.
Otherwise, it was a quiet night in the pass rushing department. There was very little bend, regardless of which side Jacas attacked from, and the majority of those reps came against backups. Again, no reason for alarm, but much like I wrote regarding Williams and his college tape, the same could be said of Jacas. His game at Illinois was primarily about power and less about being that twitched-up, bendable rusher. Thursday night, that’s exactly how it played.
There was also his performance on the kickoff unit. Jacas drew Vrabel’s attention, but not in a good way. How he responded, however, was.
“I challenged him on a kickoff, and he made a tackle,” Vrabel said. “I didn't think that his efforts were maybe good enough on the kickoff. I didn't expect that the guy who was blocking him to be able to block him, and then I challenged him, and he came up with a tackle on the kickoff. So that was a positive, and then we'll keep coaching him just like the rest of the guys.”
“Yeah, definitely sparked some fire into me,” Jacas said when I informed him of Vrabel’s comments. “Coach Vrabel pointed me out directly. So I was like, I gotta make a play on this one. So just him, just bringing that energy out of me, was definitely a difference maker, and you know, I was able to make that play.”
Jacas has quickly learned that his coach will press whatever buttons he deems necessary to get a response.
“I love that,” he said. “You know, I love when coaches demand the most out of me, and that only pushes me to be better and better each and every day. So this definitely was a learning experience for me, the first of many.”