FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Where's Leo?
A few days before facing the New York Jets, Bill Belichick -- on his weekly coach's show -- devoted most of his Telestrator segment to Leonard Williams. He pulled up a clip of Williams facing Miami Dolphins standout Mike Pouncey, theorizing the Jets were employing an old Buddy Ryan philosophy: Put your best player on the center because it gives him a two-way go against what is traditionally the weakest pass-blocking position on the offensive line.
The New England Patriots coach rolled the tape, showing Williams use an arm-over move to blow past Pouncey so fast that he barely got out of his crouch before the Jets' defensive stud tackled the running back behind the line.
"He's a problem," Belichick said.
As it turned out, Williams lined up at nose tackle on only a handful of plays in the Week 12 game against the Patriots. He's so versatile he can play any position on the defensive line, turning every play into a "Where's Waldo?" game for concerned opponents. Really, he poses a two-pronged problem:
Find him.
Block him.
They haven't been doing a very good job.
Only 29 games into his career, Williams has established himself as the Jets' best player, a bright light in the darkest of seasons. He has almost twice as many sacks (seven) as the team has wins (four), and that pretty much tells the story of 2016. The dreary season continues Saturday night against the Dolphins (8-5), who can help their playoff chances by blocking Williams better than in the previous meeting.
Williams is playing so well he has crashed the Pro Bowl conversation. That, he admitted, was a secret goal before the season.
"That would mean so much to me," he told ESPN.com. "I went into the season with high expectations, and I still want to get a lot more sacks before the season is over. For someone who wants to be great, being able to go to the Pro Bowl in my second year would be huge.
"Usually, I don't set a goal or a number [of sacks]. I just try to go as hard as I can, but the Pro Bowl is definitely one of the things I wanted to accomplish this year."
With seven sacks, he's tied for the league lead among interior lineman. The others are Aaron Donald and Gerald McCoy, a couple of perennial Pro Bowlers. In a category called "disrupted dropbacks," which counts sacks, interceptions, batted passes and passes defended, Williams' percentage ranks sixth, according to ESPN Stats & Information. He trails McCoy, Donald, Ndamukong Suh, Fletcher Cox and A'Shawn Robinson.
A potential problem: Williams is listed on the Pro Bowl ballot as a defensive end, not a tackle. Not only is it inaccurate, but it hurts his chances because the defensive-end position is littered with players with high sack totals.
Even if he doesn't make the Pro Bowl, Williams has established a reputation around the league. Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan called him "a big monster," and Belichick -- not known for hyperbole -- compared him to Richard Seymour, one of the best defensive linemen in Patriots history.
"He's just a really good player," Belichick said of Williams. "Plays hard, makes some plays from the backside. He's a good player, hard to block, long, can tip balls."
The Jets knew Williams was special when they drafted him sixth overall in 2015, but they didn't think his ascent would happen this quickly. He's still a pup, only 22 years old. In fact, he didn't have his driver's license when he was drafted. Growing up in Daytona Beach, Florida, he didn't start playing organized football until he was 14. He wasn't allowed to play Pop Warner because he exceeded the weight limit, so he played rugby.
"I went into the season with high expectations, and I still want to get a lot more sacks before the season is over." Leonard Williams
Unfortunately for opponents, there was no weight limit in the Pac-12, where Williams became a dominant player for USC.
"I never played with a guy as big and athletic as he is," said Jets running back Matt Forte, who spent eight seasons with the Chicago Bears before signing with the Jets. "The mix of size and athleticism is pretty unique. It's impressive to watch."
One of Williams' most endearing qualities, according to teammates, is his easygoing demeanor. He's the epitome of SoCal cool, laid-back and always wearing flip-flops, regardless of the weather -- yes, even on sub-freezing days like Thursday. His hair is big and curly and all over the place, which doesn't bother him at all. His giant mane makes him look like a lion -- Leo the Lion -- which spawned his nickname, Big Cat.
What people like about him is that he doesn't behave like a star. The Jets have too many players who think they're better than they are; he isn't one of them.
"He's a young guy that listens," Forte said. "He's not opposed to constructive criticism, which is really good in a young guy. When you're a young guy, you kind of feel like you can't do anything wrong. That's not being coachable. That's a mistake. A lot of guys make that mistake, but he hasn't.
"Not only that, but he's super-talented. As long as he continues on this path and doesn't get complacent, I think he can be -- if not the best -- one of the best defensive linemen in the league."
After a solid rookie year, Williams made it a priority to improve his pass rushing. He accomplished that, raising his sack total from three to seven (and counting). Coach Todd Bowles said the biggest improvement is Williams' ability to read blocking schemes, which has helped his play against the run.
Williams is a weapon because of his versatility. He has played 64 percent of his snaps at tackle/nose tackle (three sacks) and 36 percent at defensive end (four sacks), per ESPN Stats & Info. He's quicker than most interior linemen and stronger than most defensive ends.
He's a 6-foot-5, 302-pound cornerstone for a franchise short on blue-chip talent. If the NFL had an expansion draft and each team were allowed to protect only one player, the Jets' choice would be Williams.
"My goal is to be one of the best," he said, not in a bragging kind of way. "I just want to be remembered."