Shedding twenty pounds to regain his collegiate speed, linebacker James Williams is turning heads with acrobatic interceptions and a relentless pursuit of a starting defensive role.
If you've been keeping up with the Tennessee Titans this offseason, you've probably seen a few players on the highlight reels.
Carnell Tate has made his fair share of one-handed catches and highlight-level grabs out of the air. Cam Ward has obviously been a focus since he's entering his second year as the starting quarterback.
There's another Titans player who is starting to get more attention now that he's turned heads in training camp. That player is linebacker James Williams.
Williams has made a few highlight plays of his own, securing a one-handed interception earlier at training camp. The linebacker said in an interview with Titans insider Jim Wyatt that he feels like he's in high school again.
"I feel like myself again," a smiling Williams said on Tuesday. "I feel back to myself in high school – I am elusive, and I can move around however I want to. I feel great."
The Titans drafted Williams as a safety in 2024 out of Miami. He had 162 total tackles, two TFLs and four interceptions.
Given his build, he was converted to a linebacker and has been a rotational player since joining the franchise.
He's played in 29 games with two starts, and he's doing everything he can to make sure people aren't forgetting about him. He has accounted for 52 total tackles, three TFLs and one sack.
Williams has never really had a chance to start for the Titans. As a rookie, he joined the team and was put in a rotational role behind more experienced players like Jerome Baker and Jack Gibbons.
Then, when it looked like he was going to get his chance to earn starting minutes, Cedric Gray had a breakout season last year. Gray ended up leading the Titans with 164 total tackles and accounted for seven TFLs and one sack.
Williams has been flying around training camp lately, and part of that is because he shed 20 pounds in the offseason. After being 250 pounds, he is now at 230, which is similar to how much he weighed in college at Miami.
It will be hard for Williams to earn significant minutes in this linebacker room in 2026.
You have rookie Anthony Hill Jr. in the mix, who has a great build for Robert Saleh's middle linebackers of the past. Gray is going to get plenty of playing time after his breakout year in 2025.
Whether Cody Barton starts or becomes a rotational player, he'll be on the field a lot.
A faster and leaner Williams has been turning heads at training camp and should definitely be getting more eyes on him than he already has. The talk about this Titans' linebacker room has been the looming battle between Hill and Barton to see who will start at middle linebacker.
Understandably, people have been focusing on that. Don't forget about Williams and what he's doing in a pivotal year three with the Titans, however.
