Kyle Williams

A mainstay on the Buffalo defensive line, Williams enters his 12th year with the Bills. He's not flashy but is a contributor in deep IDP leagues, perhaps offering 60 tackles and a handful of sacks. He did have one outlier campaign in 2013 with 10.5 sacks, but that seems to just be an anomaly that cannot be reasonably projected again.

The veteran defensive lineman has averaged seven sacks over the past three years. He is a lower-end, though viable, option for the DL in IDP leagues. Expect about 50 tackles and maybe five or six sacks on the season for Williams.

If not for some Achilles' concerns, Williams would probably be ranked higher than this. He's been one of the league's best tackle sources among defensive linemen over the last five years, exceeding 65 tackles in three of his last four relatively healthy seasons, and he even logged a career-high 10.5 sacks in 2013. Buffalo's uptempo offense leaves the team with an above average play-count, and Williams' odds of producing are aided further by the fact that fellow linemen Marcell Dareus and Mario Williams do a good job of opening up opportunities for each other. The only worry with Williams is the fact that he's undergone surgery on both of his Achilles' tendons, and he played through Achilles irritation in 2013.

Williams underwent surgeries on his right Achilles' tendon in February and on his left Achilles' tendon after the 2011 season, so his durability is a concern. But at press time, he's expected to be ready for the start of 2013. Williams' 46 tackles and five sacks from 2012 constituted a down year for him, but he's historically been good for high tackle numbers. He posted 76 stops in 2010 and 66 in 2009, adding 5.5 and four sacks, respectively.

Williams' 2011 season was entirely ruined by a persistent foot issue that has since been surgically repaired, and he is expected to reprise his role as one of the league's standout interior linemen. For the first time in his career he will have a lot of talent around him, as 2011 third overall pick Marcell Dareus is a promising player, and the team added ends Mario Williams and Mark Anderson in free agency. With 143 tackles and 9.5 sacks between 2009 and 2010, Williams is a good bet to perform at that level again in 2012.

With 143 tackles (95 solo) in his last 30 games, Williams has posted bigger numbers than any defensive tackle in recent memory, let alone any 3-4 nose tackle. He’s no threat to force turnovers or pile up sacks, but his rate of nearly five tackles per game is quite impressive. The result is an IDP option with extreme consistency but a lack of big-point potential. With that product description, Williams is probably an average DL1 but an elite second starter, a player best used as a steady complement to a less consistent but more potent first option. Williams doesn't take as many plays off as other DT's, so his tackle production should remain at a relatively high level.

The Bills think Williams can perform at nose tackle, at least on a rotational basis, in the new 3-4 defense, even though at 305 pounds he is not the prototypical size. They think enough of him where they're actually going to cater the scheme to make him a focal point of the D-Line. Williams has a high motor and finished 2009 with 66 total tackles, four sacks and a fumble, pretty good stuff for an interior lineman. If he can keep regular playing time in a new defense that isn't perfectly suited for him, he's worth a look in leagues that force you to use a DT/NT slot.

Williams is a high-motor guy who's overachieved for a former fifth-rounder (2006). The Bills like to use a rotation system on their defensive line to keep people fresh, but Williams, as probably the team's second-best DT, gets enough minutes to be on the IDP radar if your league uses defensive tackles. He won't get a lot of sacks -- just four in his three-year NFL career -- but he's a good tackles guy because he never gives up on the play. Williams finished the 2008 season with 55 total tackles and two sacks while starting all 16 games.

The Bills clearly envision Williams as an important cog in the defensive line rotation, inking the former LSU Tiger to a three-year contract extension in July. He’s being paid starter's money, but Williams’ hold on a starting spot is tenuous, given the emergence of John McCargo. Williams and McCargo will likely rotate alongside Marcus Stroud, though neither will have any IDP value.

Williams wasn't even the first defensive tackle taken by the Bills in the 2007 draft. That honor goes to John McCargo, but it's pretty obvious which rookie had the biggest impact on the team. McCargo, the first-rounder, only recorded six tacles in five games last season before getting injured, while Williams, the fifth-rounder, started 11 games and made 53 stops. Williams enters this season as the starter at right defensive tackle. He could record 50 tackles again, but shouldn't be counted on for much in the sack column. He will have his work cut out for him though, as McCargo should return at full strength. At any rate, he'll be an important part of a rotation that the Bills enjoy churning to keep people fresh.