Marcus Williams

While the Saints may not be able to afford Williams for much longer, the rising safety signed his franchise tender this spring and officially is sticking around New Orleans for at least one more year. Because Williams is the rare ballhawk with sideline-to-sideline range, it's great news for a secondary that has a hole at No. 2 cornerback. The issue is that fellow safety Malcolm Jenkins plays closer to the line of scrimmage and has recorded 90-plus tackles in two of the last three seasons. Meanwhile, Williams will man deep safety, which likely will continue to hamper his production across the board.

Entering the final year of his rookie deal, Williams is coming off one of the best seasons of his career. In 2019, he recorded four interceptions - bringing his three-year total to 10 - including his first career touchdown and first career forced fumble. Williams also recorded at least 55 combined tackles for the third straight season to highlight his consistency and nose for the ball. A likely starter for New Orleans, he'll have ample opportunity to add to his already-solid resume and prove his mettle in 2020 before he becomes eligible for a new contract next offseason.

Though he's still best known for his missed tackle in the 2017 playoffs that cost the Saints a spot in the NFC Championship Game, Williams has otherwise been a solid, if unspectacular performer during his two pro campaigns. In his second season, Williams' work in coverage dropped off along with most of his secondary mates, but he still notched 59 tackles and two interceptions as a 15-game starter, grading out as Pro Football Focus' 36th-ranked safety. Williams is poised to enter the upcoming season as a starter, but both he and Vonn Bell will be challenged for playing time by rookie fourth-round pick Chauncey Gardner-Johnson.

Williams' season-losing stumble in coverage against the Vikings could very well define his career, but it'd be tremendously unfair if so. Williams was quietly quite good as a rookie, and a major reason why the team's pass defense was so strong. Williams earned 960 snaps despite the presence of incumbent safeties Kenny Vaccaro and Vonn Bell, and that number might go up with Vaccaro gone. Williams posted at least six stops in his final six starts of last year, portending a fast start to 2018.

The Saints drafted Williams in the second round of this year's draft in order to give the team something it lacked in 2016: a centerfielder who can patrol the backend of the secondary. He joins a position group that already includes safeties Vonn Bell and Kenny Vaccaro, and likely won't be a significant difference-maker in the run game, but Williams could begin to make a name for himself if he can pick off a few throws.