Broncos defensive tackle Sylvester Williams showed improvement last season, but general manager John Elway believes Williams will be tested by new defensive line coach Bill Kollar. (John Leyba, Denver Post file)
INDIANAPOLIS — With the Broncos willing to let the open market set the value for free agent Terrance Knighton, there exists a chance he won’t be back. Knighton has earned a big payday, perhaps as much as $7 million per season. If the Broncos deem that beyond their price point to make other pieces of the puzzle fit, the onus falls on Sylvester Williams to take on a bigger role.
Williams, a first-round draft choice in 2013, showed improvement last season, ranking 32nd against the run by Pro Football Focus among defensive tackles. However, he finished with a positive overall grade in only five games. Which leads me to John Elway’s answer about Williams’ role next season. He believes Williams can play better, and thinks new defensive line coach Bill Kollar will help him reach this goal.
“We still like Sylvester, we think there’s still a lot of potential there, and we are not sure that he’s scratched it yet. If there’s any guy that can get it out of our players it’s our new defensive line coach Bill Kollar,” Elway said. “So Sylvester is going to get tested, and will get pushed. And I think it will be a good thing for Sylvester.”
In a 3-4 alignment, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips could use a monstrous run stuffer or a smaller player capable of working the gaps through shading and stunts. The Broncos could go in multiple directions with the 28th pick in the first round, the same spot where they nabbed Williams from North Carolina. Some of the top defensive tackles who could be available at that spot include Oregon’s Arik Armstead and Texas’ Malcom Brown, who met the media on Friday.
“I just try to go at a high motor (speed). Try to be real disruptive. Get to where I am supposed to be as fast as I can,” said Brown, who has talked with the Dallas Cowboys this week.
