After being selected in the third round of the 2009 draft, inside linebacker Jason Williams faded into veritable oblivion as a result of injury. He suffered a high ankle-sprain and a quad bruise in the preseason, which caused him to miss the first three weeks of the regular season.
After that, his impact was minimal to completely unnoticeable.
Williams saw action in just five games, none of which came on defense. Whether the project pick pans out remains to be seen. But Wade Phillips believes that the Western Illinois product--who is healthy and widely regarded as Dallas's most athletic inside backer--will have a prime opportunity to contribute in 2010.
"Well, I think it's his year to step up and contribute more than what he did last year," said Phillips, per ESPNDallas.com. "I think he's ready to do that."
This opportunity will likely come in the form of special teams action at first but, with Williams' speed, he seems a prime candidate for the nickel package on defense. A great part of the battle for the Chicago native will be the mental aspect, particularly with the addition of Sean Lee.
Hopefully for Williams, he's come a long way since struggling to grasp the defense last season; because Phillips recently said that Lee knows 3/4 of the Dallas playbook--not bad for early-May.
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