Carter's Classroom: Williams ready for lead role?

The signing of Lawrence Timmons by the Dolphins may change the Steelers' outlook in free agency and in the draft if the organization does not see backup inside linebacker Vince Williams as ready to step in.

Williams, a sixth round draft pick in 2013, was thrown into the fire during his rookie season because of injuries that depleted the Steelers' depth at inside linebacker. He started 11 games and looked like a solid addition to the team for the round in which he was drafted.

Williams earned his keep as a backup, but would only started six games over the next three seasons. That's largely due to the drafting and rise of Ryan Shazier and the rise of Timmons as the centerpiece of the defense.

But now Williams is the clear second man on the depth chart at inside linebacker with Timmons gone and Shazier rises to the top dog in the rotation. NFL free agency has multiple starters at inside linebacker still floating around, and the 2017 draft class has multiple prospects at inside linebacker that appear to be worthy of early round grades.

Let's take a look into the film room to see what the Steelers' see in Williams, and if that will be enough for them to not make an investment in someone else:



KNOWS ROLE

Williams has always understood his role in the defense. Though he makes mental mistakes, he has developed a solid level of consistency in knowing which gaps he's supposed to play when he has the time to process what's happening in front of him.

Watch this play with Williams at weak inside linebacker, as he flows down the line to cover the gap just outside of Timmons:



Williams' responsibility on this play is to judge where the play is going. Because Timmons crashes the inside on this play and Arthur Moats has contain duty, Williams is the lone linebacker that can read and decipher what the Chiefs are trying to do.

He fills that role, shuffling down the line while maintaining a solid defensive stance in case the running back tries to get fancy with moves.

Williams is helped by a solid performance by the Steelers' defensive line as they prevent any Chiefs' lineman from getting to him. That's the key with Williams being on the field for the Steelers — he's not fast or quick enough to make spectacular plays frequently, nor does he possess a large repertoire of block-shedding moves. Williams is good when he's able to see what's going on, but once he is engaged with offensive linemen, things get more difficult.

Of course that goes for any linebacker, but Williams doesn't find enough ways to disengage or make linemen miss. Several plays made by Shazier against the run happen because he's just too fast to be caught by linemen in his gap. Timmons can often absorb a block and maintain his gap responsibility as well.

PASS RUSH

Williams has 2.5 sacks to his name in his four years in the NFL, two of those sacks came during this season. Neither were because of a great pass rush move or well-timed blitz, but always because of Williams' hustle.

Watch this play as Williams is lined up with a right tackle on this blitz. His main responsibility is to set the edge and close down that side of the pocket on Ryan Fitzpatrick without letting him break contain:



Williams does a solid job of engaging the tackle and keeping his hands inside of his frame. This allows him to drive the tackle backwards. Once Fitzpatrick doesn't like what he sees, he breaks to find space to scramble.

Williams kept his head up the entire time and disengaged with his man just in time to get the sack. These are the types of plays that have helped Williams stick with the Steelers. He plays within his role in the scheme and employs enough of the fundamentals to be able to make the play when it comes to him.

Though Williams doesn't have any solid pass rush moves or athleticism that would make him difficult to block, he's a guy that you can plug in and feel comfortable that he won't botch his assignment while trying to be the hero.

SLOW TO PROCESS

One of the biggest knocks on Williams is that he has not significantly improved his ability to diagnose an offense's play. There are moments when he is able to read a play and play his gap, but there are also several moments when that read comes just a second late and the Steelers end up paying for it.

Take this play for example, as Williams has to guess which gap LaGarrette Blount will attack:



Williams' responsibility should be the outside shoulder of Anthony Chickilo. He takes a few more seconds to get there because he's too busy trying to figure out if Blount is going to shoot the gap between Chickilo and Stephon Tuitt.

His cautionary style of play gets him in more trouble. That hesitation often allows linemen to get to him quickly and prevents him from making a play. If Williams gets to the outside quicker, he would be able to take on the pulling guard with his inside hand, leaving the outside shoulder free and giving him a better chance to challenge Blount or at least make him change his direction.

This is a common theme with Williams. Watch here as he makes a similar mistake against the Eagles in the red zone. His job is to read where the ball is coming and protect Moats' outside shoulder if the play is coming his way, or assist to the inside if he thinks it's a dive:



Williams reads a dive and takes himself out of the play. The Eagles pull their backside guard to be the lead blocker on the play, which is the person that Williams should have engaged on this play.

Instead, Williams is out of position and the Eagles walk into the end zone. Williams is not an overly powerful linebacker that the Steelers felt comfortable using as a battering ram at the line of scrimmage. That means his role is often going to be the guy that plays back and make the necessary reads that the more experienced linebacker of the two is expected to make.

Timmons regularly makes those reads, which is why he was a great captain for this defense.

Watch here as Williams makes a tough read here, but ultimately ends up with a chance to get to Jay Ajayi and is just not quick enough to make the play:



Williams finds a way to sneak through B-gap clean enough to attack Ajayi. The problem is that he takes just a half-second too long to get through and can't even slow down Ajayi for the rest of the defense to get there.

These are the issues that Williams will bring if he's asked to be the regular starter. He's a very good spell option to bring in on occasion when Shazier or Timmons needed a break, but he has to show more consistency to be a full-time starter.

The issue that the Steelers run up against with their inside linebacker situation is that Timmons was the reliable veteran that could make the inside reads while communicating audibles and switches on the field. Even if the Steelers add an inside linebacker in the draft, they will have a difficult time replacing all of what Timmons brought to the defense.

Shazier will be expected to fill that role, which will be a tall task for the standout linebacker entering his fourth season. Whether or not he fills it, the Steelers will still need an inside linebacker they can rely on besides Shazier.

Williams has an advantage since he knows Steelers' system, but that may not matter if the Steelers opt for a younger, more athletic talent.

Ultimately, the Steelers do need to add another inside linebacker, preferably one who can plug and play, but their draft priorities should not shift away from finding a premier pass rusher.

We'll be getting into who some of those rookies are soon, here in Carter's Classroom.