Vince Williams had to deal with two major additions to the Steelers' inside linebacker group in Devin Bush and Mark Barron. That led to Williams seeing a significant decrease in defensive snaps, playing 396 in 2019 after 743 in 2018.
But this season made the case for Williams to see an increase in snaps next year, both because of his play and the direction of the NFL.
Let's take a closer look:
Williams has seen plenty of competition come through the Steelers' linebacker group since he was drafted in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Despite starting 11 games as a rookie, Williams saw the Steelers draft Ryan Shazier in the first round the next year, reducing his role in the defense.
Williams would return to being a regular starter in 2017 after Lawrence Timmons left the team, but the additions of Bush and Barron reduced his role in the defense again.
The Steelers' defense needed cover linebackers after the problems it faced against the pass in 2018, which made sense for exchanging Jon Bostic and L.J. Fort for Bush and Barron. Bush had a strong rookie season and made four passes defensed and two interceptions.
Barron only had one interception with three passes defensed and was vastly more experienced. Which was not the production that changed the Steelers into one of the NFL's best defenses in 2019.
Williams is a better asset against the run, winning more battles at the point of attack with physicality as a battering ram to stop lead blockers. That factor to his game could be make him more important to the Steelers' future with the direction of the NFL.
The top seed of the AFC in 2019 was the Ravens, who led the NFL in rushing yards with 3296, the most in NFL history. The top seed of the NFC was the 49ers, who were second in rushing yards with 2305 yards. The Ravens were defeated by the Titans, who had the third most rushing yards with 2223.
The Titans dominated the line of scrimmage with Derrick Henry gaining 195 yards on 30 carries. Watch how the Titans bully the Ravens to open a lane for Henry on this 23 yard run. They collapse the Ravens' defensive line, but Patrick Onwuasor still had a chance to blow up the play in the hole.
Khari Blasingame played the fullback role and stuffed Onwuasor in the hole, allowing for Henry to accelerate to full speed and have a big gain:
Williams has often filled the run stuffer role to prevent plays like that for the Steelers. He's been the ace of the defense in their backs on backers drills for years because he could beat fullbacks and running backs in the hole.
Watch how he blows up the Browns' run play by dominating their fullback. If he loses that battle, Nick Chubb would have a huge gap to run through for a big play, but Williams closes all of it with physical play:
Plays like that may not seem important in the moment, but in the grand scheme of the defense they are the moments that add up to stopping the run. After stopping the run enough times, the defense puts offenses in riskier situations that increase their chance to create turnovers.
Williams found the ball carrier at the highest rate of the defense:
His play this season should justify using him more often in 2020. He doesn't have Bush's speed and range to cover around the field, but he can still contribute in coverage. Watch how he covers Nick Boyle in a short out route, keeping the play in front of him and jumping the pass from Lamar Jackson:
There's a chance that with a more experienced Bush at the lead role of the inside linebackers, Williams could be on the field more to be isolated in roles of run stuffing and underneath coverage.
The improved coverage of the Steelers' secondary with Joe Haden, Steven Nelson, Terrell Edmunds and Minkah Fitzpatrick would put the Steelers in a more advantageous situation than any of the other years when Williams was a full time starter.
And as more NFL teams develop stronger ground games to carry them to victory, having Williams in that role could be an ace in the hole for the Steelers moving forward.
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