Jets' Leonard Williams on the Verge of Entering DPOY Conversation in 2016

When one thinks of NFL teams to which the fates have been kind in recent years, the New York Jets aren't exactly the first club that leaps to mind. Or the 21st.

However, there's no doubt that in the 2015 NFL draft, when USC defensive tackle Leonard Williams fell to the Jets at No. 6 overall, the universe was smiling on Gang Green.

And entering his second NFL season, Williams is about to demonstrate to everyone just how big that grin was.

As Brian Costello of the New York Post reported, Williams has entered his second NFL training camp a man on a mission.

"It is hard to evaluate linemen when practice is non-contact and no pads are on, but Williams just looks more sure of himself," Costello wrote. "That led to him playing fast. He was constantly in the backfield, blowing up plays."

Costello isn't the only person who was forecasting a big season for Williams in 2016 after OTAs. According to Seth Walder of the New York Daily News, Jets defensive line coach Pepper Johnson has noticed Williams has ratcheted up his game this summer:

"

Leonard has definitely matured a lot. He took the season and he was tough on himself (when he) evaluated himself. I had a talk with him. I’m not going to handcuff him. I’m quite sure that (head coach) Todd (Bowles) and defensive coordinator Kacy (Rodgers) are not going to handcuff him. So, hopefully the world is his.

[...]

He’s physically capable of being one of the better defensive linemen in the league. As far as the expectation question, that’s what I would like to have. I would like for all my guys to rise to the occasion. If we want to go to the next level, if we want to make it to the playoffs, then we need some guys that can put people on their shoulders and play like elites. And make people game-plan (for) them.

"

Mind you, it isn't as if Williams was a bum as a rookie. Forced into the starting lineup off the bat by Sheldon Richardson's four-game suspension to open 2015, he played 753 snaps, per Pro Football Focus, piling up 63 tackles. He graded out inside the top 10 at his position (No. 7), ahead of the likes of Calais Campbell of the Arizona Cardinals and Richardson.

Not bad for a first season as a defensive end in a three-man front.

But while Williams was third among 3-4 ends with 19 quarterback hits (trailing only J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans and teammate Muhammad Wilkerson), he was able to convert only three of those hits into sacks.

Brad Penner/Associated Press

Williams told Walder he has his sights set considerably higher than that in year two.

“I had like seven-plus sacks a year (at USC), a lot of TFLs (tackles for loss). I’m just used to having a lot of production," Williams said. “I got away in college with just going down the middle of a guy a lot of times because I could out-physical them. I tried to do that last year and I realized that you can’t do that in this league.”

Williams' many near-misses (in addition to all those hits, he had a pass-rushing grade of 13th at his position, per PFF) demonstrate the massive potential lurking beneath the surface. If he's figured out a way to close that extra half-step—to get there a fraction of a second sooner—the sky is truly the limit.

This is a player who was considered by many (including ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr.) the top prospect at any position headed into last year's draft. And despite the lack of a lot of splash plays for the Jets in year one, Kiper named Williams his defensive rookie of the year in 2015:

"

He played nearly 800 snaps, was outstanding against the run, helped free up teammates to rush the passer, and actually did some great work in pushing the pocket himself. You really have to watch Williams on every snap because stats won't do him justice. I had him as the No. 1 overall player in the 2015 NFL draft, and I think he lived up to that. And yes, he was a total steal at No. 6 for New York. Great work by that front office.

"

Great work? When a huge bag of money drops into your lap, is it "work" to catch it?

Because that's what happened when Williams slid.

Regardless of the fact the Jets were already in possession of arguably the league's best one-two punch at end, it was a pick that screamed to be made—not just because it makes the Jets better on defense, which it most certainly does.

But also due to the flexibility it gives them—the flexibility to play more four-man fronts in order to get all three ends on the field at once. In those instances, Williams usually kicks inside, which at least partly accounts for his relatively low sack numbers as a rookie.

The pick also gives the Jets the flexibility to let Wilkerson play out 2016 under the franchise tag before deciding if they want to invest $60 million in guarantees to lock him up. It's certain as certain gets someone will, but it's just as certain that Williams has vastly altered the team's negotiating position where Wilkerson is concerned:

And Williams gives New York the flexibility to decide whether it wants to hand a similarly gaudy amount of money to Richardson, who has been a force on the field and a near-constant headache off of it.

Not that this isn't at least a bit of a double-edged sword. Having one defensive lineman making $15 million or more per season can be difficult to pull off. Having two would be almost unheard of, and having three would be impossible.

It's a good problem to have, though.

If recent NFL history is any indication, the problem is going to get bigger and better in 2016. It's a scenario we quite literally just saw play out.

A highly touted interior lineman drops further in the draft than his talent level and collegiate production indicate he should. After an impressive rookie campaign, said lineman bumps his pass-rushing production in year two and moves from the ranks of the rising young defenders to become one of the league's best defensive players period.

In 2015, Aaron Donald of the now-Los Angeles Rams was the latest to pull it off. It was Watt's second season in 2012 when he really took the league by storm.

Don't be surprised if history repeats itself in 2016, with Williams playing the lead role.

Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPSharks.