3. Sylvester Williams
I’m not afraid to admit that I was completely out on Sylvester Williams coming into the season. I thought he was a total bust, and more importantly, I thought John Elway had made a colossal mistake in letting Terrance Knighton walk in favor of handing the reigns over to Sly.
Now, I’m not afraid to admit I was wrong.
Williams hasn’t been a superstar, but he’s been really good, and he’s helped lead the Broncos to the fourth best rush defense in the NFL. And honestly, this top-five ranking may be more impressive than any of the other ones the Broncos have had in the last five years.
The Broncos have been a top-five run defense in two of the last three years, but there’s always been the question of whether that ranking was thanks to a top-of-the-line defense or a top-of-the-line offense, which forced opponents to switch to the passing game early and often.
This year, though, Denver hasn’t been running away with games. In fact, they’ve been trailing on many occasions where their opponents could have made it a point to run the ball; they just aren’t getting anywhere, and a lot of that credit has to go to Williams.
Williams has been on the field for 53.9 percent of the Broncos snaps, which leads all defensive tackles on the team and is more time than Knighton ever saw on the field.
The run defense was one of the Broncos’ biggest question marks heading into the season, but now it’s one of the team’s unquestioned strengths. Safe to say, for whatever Sly Williams is, he’s no longer a bust.
