There might not have been a happier player at the NFL's trade deadline last season than former Alabama star Quinnen Williams, who was finally able to escape the black hole of the New York Jets.
After six and a half seasons with the Jets, Williams was traded to the Dallas Cowboys last year, and he'll head into his first full season with Dallas looking to regain his All-Pro form.
Williams is still one of the game's elite defensive tackles, but one anonymous NFL coach expects him to crank it back up a notch now that he's escaped one of the league's worst franchises. During his time in New York, the Jets never won more than seven games, finishing with a losing record in every season he was with the franchise.
While the Cowboys haven't been the pinnacle of recent success, he'll certainly have a bigger opportunity to get into the playoffs and shine on the game's biggest stage.
In ESPN's ranking of the best defensive tackles in the NFL, as polled by executives, coaches, and scouts, Williams came in at No. 6. That's a spot lower than he was last year, and three spots lower than the highest point he was ranked in his career.
One NFL coach expects Williams to take a step back up the board in Dallas.
NFL coach expects a Leonard Williams-type bounce-back for Quinnen Williams
"The Jets will knock you down -- the same thing happened to Leonard Williams -- but I expect Quinnen to be better in Dallas, be rejuvenated a bit," an NFL coordinator said, via ESPN.
It's not a coincidence that the No. 1 player on ESPN's ranking is Williams, who was a teammate of Quinnen's on the Jets in 2019 before joining the Giants and now the Seahawks.
That's the level Williams hopes to aspire to now with the Cowboys. While last season's 2.5 sacks were the lowest number of his career since his rookie year in 2019, the advanced numbers, particularly in Dallas, still point to a player who is one of the NFL's most disruptive forces on the interior.
Per ESPN, in seven games with the Cowboys, Williams produced 19 pressures, which was more than double what he totaled in eight games with the Jets in 2025. He was also fifth in the NFL in run stop win rate (43%).
A big season could be on the horizon for Williams in Dallas, which could culminate in his second 1st Team All Pro nod, and his first since 2022.
"As far as skill sets, he's still so gifted and such a matchup problem," a veteran NFL offensive coach said, via ESPN.
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