Quinnen Williams put together his best year as a member of the New York Jets in 2022, but ESPN doesn’t believe he’ll repeat his sack output from a season ago. After registering a career-best 12 sacks last season, ESPN is projecting Williams to finish the upcoming campaign with seven sacks, tying him for the 29th-most in the NFL.
ESPN’s Seth Walder calculated the projections by incorporating a few factors, including sacks totals in the previous two seasons, pass-rush win rate, projected team win totals, and how often a player rushes off of the edge rather than the interior, among other factors. The last factor is likely causing Williams’ sack projection to be negatively affected as he wreaks havoc from the interior for the Jets.
Along with posting a career-best 12 sacks in 2022, the former first-round pick also recorded career-best marks in tackles for loss (12) and quarterback hits (28) en route to receiving first-team All-Pro honors. The two players that Williams is tied with in sack projections for the upcoming season are Uchenna Nwosu of the Seattle Seahawks and Daron Payne of the Washington Commanders.
With the 2023 season right around the corner, the Jets are returning the majority of their defensive line from a season ago, while also adding Will McDonald IV in the first round of this year’s draft. Barring an injury or catastrophic decline from New York’s defense, Williams has a decent chance to surpass seven sacks for the second straight year in 2023.
