BEREA, Ohio — Over the first two days of training camp, Cleveland Browns rookie cornerback Greedy Williams has made quite the impression on his teammates and coaches.
Williams burst onto the scene Thursday by breaking up several passes, and then, on Friday, he corralled two interceptions during one-on-one receivers-against-cornerbacks drill near the end of the second day of work.
“It was a great feeling to get started early in camp,” Williams said. “Getting an interception, that definitely brings a lot of confidence to go out there and grab another one, so I’m just having fun playing the game and when plays come my way, I make them.”
Williams’ first interception came on a pass thrown to wide receiver Ishmael Hyman along the right sideline just short of the end zone. Williams secured the catch with both feet down in bounds before stepping over the sideline.
Following the interception, Williams held up the ball high in the air and did several arm circles before returning to the line of scrimmage.
Then, on a pass in the end zone, Williams caught the ball and exuberantly tossed it into the air while letting out a scream as defensive teammates swarmed him to celebrate the takeaway.
“He’s getting his hands on the football,” wide receiver Jarvis Landry said. “Obviously, he’s still young in this process. There are still things he’s learning that he hasn’t seen coming from college to the NFL. There are things he has to see and adapt to, and when he sees other things he might have to face, it will allow him to mature a little bit.
“I know he has the skill set to be able to play on this level, for sure.”
While it is a new challenge going against NFL competition rather than the best at the collegiate level, Williams has a penchant for making plays.
Over 24 career games in just two years at LSU, Williams registered 71 total tackles, including 49 solo stops and 22 assists, with 1.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, as well as eight interceptions and 19 passes defended.
Williams came into his own as a freshman in 2017 when he collected six interceptions and 10 passes defended along with 26 solo stops, 12 assists and 38 total tackles.
Those six interceptions ranked first in the Southeastern Conference and fourth in the NCAA, which is part of the reason why the Browns traded the Nos. 49 and 144 selections to the Indianapolis Colts in order to move up to No. 46 and pick Williams.
“I think he needs to continue to get better at everything,” Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said. “He is getting his hands on balls, and when you are getting your hands on balls, sometimes, you come up with them. The more you get them on the ball, the more interceptions you are going to have, the more turnovers you are going to have and the better defense you are going to have to get the ball to the offense.
“He just needs to keep getting better every day. I don’t know if there is any one thing I can point out. He just needs to get better.”
