The Best Kept Secret In The South (Mid)

You would think he would be on everyone's All-Pro team. Over 1500 yards rushing, 5.5 ypc, 18 touchdowns, and not one fumble. Yet you don't hear his name brought up when you hear about the premiere rushers in the NFL. Sure, you hear about Adrian Peterson, Clinton Portis, and Michael Turner. DeAngelo Williams deserves to be in that same discussion. This past season he had arguably the best year of any of the running backs.

Consider that he led the league in rushing TDs, yards per carry, and was third in rushing yards gained. He also had multiple games in which he scored more than two touchdowns, and he once had four in one game. To think he did all of this with only 270 carries is astounding. In an offense that features the run, he had to split carries with an equally effective Jonathan Stewart. A 2,000 yard season if he were the sole back was definitely not out of the question. So how is it possible that this type of star could be out of the media hype?

For one thing, DeAngelo is almost humble to a fault. Never one to heap praise on himself he's often deflecting much of the praise to his offensive line and his backfield mate. Stewart, the more talkative of the two, though, lacks no words when describing his partner. He has used numerous adjectives including great, fearless, shifty, and having a killer instinct. He has also alluded to the point that Williams is one of the top two or three backs in the league.

Although his success may be suprising to some, this is just what Williams expected. Pundits questioned the Panthers taking him in the 1st round, he wondered why he didn't go sooner. His college nubers were great but the level of competition was suspect at best. It didn't matter; he approached the games the same, and when he did get a chance to play on the big stage he shined. Now in his fifth year, maybe some of the other teams in the league will take note, this kid can play.

I'm not saying that Williams is better than any of the above-mentioned running backs, but the numbers pretty much speak for themselves. If you asked him he would probably tell you that he prefers it that way. He would probably like to stay under the radar as much as possible. After being a witness to his remarkable skills I can't give him that pass. The world needs to know DeAngelo Williams, one of the top backs in the NFL.