Saints RB Jamaal Williams Listed Among NFL's Most Underappreciated Players

Why Jamaal Williams could be one of the keys to a successful New Orleans season, according to NFL Network analyst.

NFL Network Analytics Expert Cynthia Frelund lists New Orleans Saints RB Jamaal Williams as one of the NFL's most underappreciated players going into the 2023 season. Frelund listed one such player for each team according to her advanced metrics that included a player's production over their previous season. Her choice for the Saints in 2022 was LB Pete Werner. 

This is what Frelund had to say about Williams for the NFL Network:

A huge part of Detroit's second-half surge last season -- both from a leadership and production standpoint -- Williams is preparing for his first year in New Orleans. He offers plenty of upside to the Saints, particularly in the red zone. Williams does a fantastic job of keeping his legs churning on contact, maximizing his stellar short-area burst. According to computer vision, he ranked fourth in maintaining speed when contacted in the red area last season. With 13 goal-line touchdowns (defined by NGS as inside the 3-yard line), Williams led the NFL in that category by four scores. He also ranked ninth with an average of 4.4 yards per carry between the tackles.

Williams, 28, was signed to a three-year contract with $8 million in guaranteed money by New Orleans this offseason. His average per year salary currently ranks 19th among all running backs. He entered the league as a fourth-round pick by the Green Bay Packers in 2017 out of BYU.

Williams has 3,652 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns in six seasons, along with 160 receptions for 1,191 yards and eight scores. He's coming off a career-best 1,066 yards with the Detroit Lions in 2022 that included an NFL-high 17 rushing scores.

Oct. 2, 2022; Detroit Lions running back Jamaal Williams runs past Seattle Seahawks defenders. 

Jamaal Williams was a key addition to a New Orleans backfield that will lose RB Alvin Kamara to at least a six-game suspension this season. Williams has proven that he can shoulder the load of a featured back, which should also allow the Saints to use Kamara more as a receiver. 

New Orleans, who ranked 19th in rushing last year, also added TCU RB Kendre Miller with a third-round draft pick. At the very least, both Williams and Miller are major upgrades as complements to Kamara in a backfield that had few other options the last two years.