Versatility becomes calling card for Steelers LB Vince Williams

When Vince Williams first came into the NFL, it was with a reputation as a run-stopping inside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

His repertoire evolved as Williams became a starter. In 2017, he showed pass-rushing prowess and ranked second on the Steelers with eight sacks. Last season, Williams was asked to drop into coverage to compensate for the loss of Ryan Shazier.

“In today’s NFL, you’ve got to be a versatile defender,” Williams said. “A lot of people think of that as you’ve got to be a coverage guy. You’ve got to cover some, but you’ve got to be able to rush, too. There’s a lot of ways to win in the NFL.

“You’ve got to be able to do it all, or at least some combination of it. At the end of the day, to make things very simple, I’m a football player. When you have people that love football and are good at the game, they’re going to find ways to be successful because they have a passion for it.”

Williams’ passion to play now involves a new role, as the Steelers often opt for rookie Devin Bush and veteran Mark Barron at inside linebacker in pass situations.

After playing the majority of snaps last season, Williams is learning to adjust to a reduced role. Where he played a season-high 65% of snaps against Baltimore and 61% against the Los Angeles Chargers, Williams played only 11 snaps against the Los Angeles Rams and nine at the Cincinnati Bengals.

So Williams has found a new role as the Steelers deploy him as a down lineman in certain sub-packages.

“I’m just here to do my job. Whatever they ask me to do, I’ll do it,” Williams said. “It’s really just a way to manipulate a front, give them different looks. It confuses offenses because they don’t know if we’re going to be in a zone or man. You might think we’re putting an extra linebacker on the field and we’ll be in zone coverage and dropping more people, but we’re actually rushing. You know when you’ve got an extra lineman there, you’ve got more pressure.”

Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler has gotten creative with ways to get Williams on the field, thanks in part to Williams’ ability to stuff the run and rush the passer.

“It helped us quite a bit because we’re going to play those guys in different situations,” Butler said. “So, he gives us a chance to play him in situations where maybe it’s a three-man front, and we rush three and drop eight sometimes. It gives us the opportunity to do that, and he helps us in the running game, too, quite a bit. We’re trying to use our people and let them do what they do best.”

Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.