Dorion Williams youngest LB in league this year to lead in tackles

[JerseyBills]

Hopefully Bishop, Keon and Carter take a jump. Seems like a few rookies have in their 2nd year 

[T master]

On 2/27/2025 at 8:42 AM, oldmanfan said:

It would not completely surprise me if Milano is included in a trade for a guy like Garrett.  Williams needs to see the field more.

 

He's definitely a stud and the more he plays the better he will get but I still dig some Millano & IMHO I would rather trade Oliver he is very spotty and a lot of teams just shut him down & he disappears for long stints in the season when Milan came back he was pretty consistent & looking like the old Lano .

 

With a full off season to rest and get back into full shape I think he will be the Lano we all know & luv .

[folz]

Just throwing some stats into the conversation:

 

In the first 11 games of 2024, Dorian averaged 78% of the defensive snaps at LBer.

In the last 6 games of the regular season and the three playoff games (after Matt's return), Dorian averaged 17% of the snap count on defense at LBer.

On the year (overall) he averaged 59% of the defensive snaps at LBer.

 

So, the tackle total is even a bit more impressive considering he hardly played the last 6 games of the year (averaged only 11% of defensive snaps over that stretch).

 

In the first 10 games of the year (as a starter), he averaged 9.3 tackles per game (pro-rated to 17 games that would be 158 tackles---which would be good for a third place tie in the league in 2024, for reference). Also in those 10 games, he had 5 TFLs, 1 Forced Fumble, 2 Fumble Recoveries, 6 QB pressures, 1 QB hit, 2 QB knockdowns (no sacks, ints, or pds).

 

 

 

As to defending the pass, let's compare his stats to Terrel's and Matt's to get a better idea:

 

2024       Recs allowed     Targets        Comp. %       Yds allowed      yds/rec     yds/tar    YAC allowed    % of Yac yds      PD      INTs    TDs allowed     Rating*

Dorian            43                   59                72.9                  390                 9.1              6.6             246                    63                 0         0               3                 107.3

Terrel             38                   59                64.4                  379                10.0             6.4             227                   59.9               3         2               2                  79.7          

Matt                5                     8                  62.5                   60                 12.0             7.5              ---                     ---                 0        0               0                  85.4

*Lower rating is better

 

Hard to compare Matt with such a small sample size. The only real difference between Terrel and Dorian, statistically in 2024, were Terrel's 3 PDs, 2 INTs, and 1 less TD allowed. But, that is 6 big plays across the year that could help decide outcomes of games.

 

Now, if we compare a few key stats between Dorian's 2024 and Matt's and TB's season averages (over their starting careers), it does appear that Dorian still has some work to do in that department.

 

Season averages (over their career)

                Comp. %      yds/tar    PD     INTs    TDs allowed     Rating

Terrel        68.3             6.4         5       2.5             2                  79.9            

Matt          61.8              5.1          5       1.25          1.14                71.0

 

2024

Dorian      72.9             6.6          0         0               3                 107.3

 

That's about 8-9 plays across a season that Matt and TB will make in the passing game that Dorian did not in 2024 (granted, he also only started 11 of the 17 games and he's still young---not that Terrel isn't too). So, I guess the question is, does Dorian have the ability to make those splash plays in the passing game (with more time/experience)? Or, if not and if you were to move on at some point from Matt or Terrel, can you live with that slight downgrade in the passing game (as he seems to be pretty solid in the rest of his game). Either way, I'm very comfortable with him as our backup for now and he is at least a very capable starter when called upon. And I guess we'll see if he can keep the arrow pointing higher than that.

              

 

 

 

[BarleyNY]

3 hours ago, ngbills said:

Exaclty -- You could put any college LB on the field and he can tally up tackle numbers. At LB all that really means is you were on the field. Things like sacks, TFL, int's, etc are more telling if you want to look at impact. You look deeper at Dorian and he blitzed 41 times with no sacks. Targeted 59 times and no int's, plus giving up a 107 qb rating, and missed 8.6% of his tacks. So you can look at the tackle numbers and be impressed, but the other side tells a different story.  

Agreed. Wish we had access to average depth of tackle stats. 

[VW82]

Dorian was a pleasant surprise but let’s not forget how much of a boost the defense got from Milano once he started looking better after the Lions game. 
 

Milano’s recognition more than makes up for the drop in speed. I doubt we make any real changes to LBer core for next year, though if we do it’s more likely to be Mike. 

[Mister Defense]

On 2/27/2025 at 9:41 AM, DJB said:

 

How is this possible I thought Tremaine was the youngest and only getting younger?!?! 

 

 

You better watch it DJB, if you know what;s good for you...and the Bills.

 

Do not share stats like that, please, especially of our young up and coming players, like Williams, Bernard, Cook..

 

Because as soon as a small group of posters see that, realize what we may have now, and in the future, they start salivating, then foaming at the mouth..

 

And then they think of all kinds of scenarios in which we can get rid of them. Preferably for draft picks, though not higher than what we drafted them at. 

 

So, thanks for the info, but please stop now..

 

 

 

 

[mikemac2001]

On 2/27/2025 at 9:06 AM, DapperCam said:

Feel like Williams was pretty bad in coverage this year. I remember him getting completely fooled by the slightest misdirection and losing his assignment. Thumper in the run game though.

Ya people like the tackles but don’t see him being confused in passing game 

[CSBill]

I think Williams will be a starter in one way or another next season.

13 hours ago, folz said:

Just throwing some stats into the conversation:

 

In the first 11 games of 2024, Dorian averaged 78% of the defensive snaps at LBer.

In the last 6 games of the regular season and the three playoff games (after Matt's return), Dorian averaged 17% of the snap count on defense at LBer.

On the year (overall) he averaged 59% of the defensive snaps at LBer.

 

So, the tackle total is even a bit more impressive considering he hardly played the last 6 games of the year (averaged only 11% of defensive snaps over that stretch).

 

In the first 10 games of the year (as a starter), he averaged 9.3 tackles per game (pro-rated to 17 games that would be 158 tackles---which would be good for a third place tie in the league in 2024, for reference). Also in those 10 games, he had 5 TFLs, 1 Forced Fumble, 2 Fumble Recoveries, 6 QB pressures, 1 QB hit, 2 QB knockdowns (no sacks, ints, or pds).

 

 

 

As to defending the pass, let's compare his stats to Terrel's and Matt's to get a better idea:

 

2024       Recs allowed     Targets        Comp. %       Yds allowed      yds/rec     yds/tar    YAC allowed    % of Yac yds      PD      INTs    TDs allowed     Rating*

Dorian            43                   59                72.9                  390                 9.1              6.6             246                    63                 0         0               3                 107.3

Terrel             38                   59                64.4                  379                10.0             6.4             227                   59.9               3         2               2                  79.7          

Matt                5                     8                  62.5                   60                 12.0             7.5              ---                     ---                 0        0               0                  85.4

*Lower rating is better

 

Hard to compare Matt with such a small sample size. The only real difference between Terrel and Dorian, statistically in 2024, were Terrel's 3 PDs, 2 INTs, and 1 less TD allowed. But, that is 6 big plays across the year that could help decide outcomes of games.

 

Now, if we compare a few key stats between Dorian's 2024 and Matt's and TB's season averages (over their starting careers), it does appear that Dorian still has some work to do in that department.

 

Season averages (over their career)

                Comp. %      yds/tar    PD     INTs    TDs allowed     Rating

Terrel        68.3             6.4         5       2.5             2                  79.9            

Matt          61.8              5.1          5       1.25          1.14                71.0

 

2024

Dorian      72.9             6.6          0         0               3                 107.3

 

That's about 8-9 plays across a season that Matt and TB will make in the passing game that Dorian did not in 2024 (granted, he also only started 11 of the 17 games and he's still young---not that Terrel isn't too). So, I guess the question is, does Dorian have the ability to make those splash plays in the passing game (with more time/experience)? Or, if not and if you were to move on at some point from Matt or Terrel, can you live with that slight downgrade in the passing game (as he seems to be pretty solid in the rest of his game). Either way, I'm very comfortable with him as our backup for now and he is at least a very capable starter when called upon. And I guess we'll see if he can keep the arrow pointing higher than that.

             

 

Excellent data-driven analysis, folz.

 

Thank you