Eagles Defensive Tackle Shining In A Spotlight That Might Get Hotter

Still just 25, the third-round pick from 2021 has been steady throughout his career, which began with a front-office squabble on draft night.

Sep 16, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams (93) in a game against the Atlanta Falcons during the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

This was the Milton Williams many wanted to see, the one Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio thought of so highly that he revealed during training camp that he wanted the Dolphins to trade for him when Fangio coordinated the defense in Miami a season ago.

Williams had perhaps the best game of his career, at least from a numbers’ standpoint, during Sunday night’s 37-20 win over the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium.

He had a career-high two sacks with three quarterback hits, two tackles for loss, and a forced fumble in just 24 snaps (38 percent). Williams has a career-high five sacks this season, one better than he posted in 2022.

Williams was the beneficiary of the Rams’ constant double-teaming of Jalen Carter, prompting Nick Sirianni to take out his well-worn phrase – you can’t be great without the greatness of others – during the coach’s Tuesday afternoon news conference.

“A lot of double teams were going towards Jalen Carter in that game which left Milton to have some opportunities one-on-one that he was able to win,” said Sirianni. “So, it’s just a style of good defense. You need your teammate, you need your brother to play to the best of your abilities and I think we saw that on Sunday.”

And Carter was fine with Williams getting the glory while occupying blockers that come at him two, sometimes three, at a time.

“It’s part of the game,” said Carter. “My boy Milt got two sacks.”

Eagles DC Vic Fangio surprisingly mention Milton Williams as a candidate to get some snaps at nose tackle. / John McMullen/Eagles on SI

Williams has been consistent throughout his four years with the Eagles since being drafted in the third round back, No. 73 overall, in 2021. Remember that draft? One member of the Eagles front office didn’t seem to like the pick, preferring Alim McNeill, who went to the Lions the pick ahead of Williams.

The two defensive tackles have similar career numbers, though Williams’ are slightly better.

Williams: 61 games, 11.5 sacks, 123 tackles (64 solo), 24 tackles for loss, 26 QB hits, five passes defended, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery in 1,641 snaps.

McNeill: 58 games, 11.5 sacks (3.5 this season compared to Williams’ 5), 133 tackles (64 solo), 21 tackles for loss, 27 QB hits, one pass defended, and one forced fumble in 2,275 snaps.

The only thing McNeill has that Williams doesn’t is a new contract. The Lions signed McNeill to a four-year, $97 million contract just last month, of which $28M is fully guaranteed. Williams is playing on the final year of his contract with a base salary of $3.1M.

Something Williams may have over McNeill is the versatility to pay inside and out, something that could become useful should defensive coordinator Vic Fangio throw some outside reps to Williams in the absence of Brandon Graham. Sirianni didn’t tip his hand on that front, however.

“We have options to do different things there,” he said. “Milton’s done a really good job. He’s tough, he works hard, he’s a good teammate, all the things you want out of one of your players.”

Perhaps general manager Howie Roseman will take note and get a deal done to keep Williams, who just turned 25 in April, around for a few more seasons.

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