THE CHARGERS were facing a third-and-9 at the Arizona 10-yard line of their Monday night game against the Cardinals last month, and as Garrett Williams lined up across from tight end Will Dissly, his preparation mattered.
The second-year cornerback remembered during his studies throughout the week specifically writing down the formation and the concept as something L.A. liked to run – a conclusion Williams' coaches agreed with.
As it presented itself pre-snap in front of him, the Cardinals nursing a 7-6 lead late in the third quarter, Williams saw it immediately.
"When it happens, it's like, 'This is it! Go!'" he said.
As Dissly cut across the field, Williams matched him step for step, colliding with Dissly as Justin Herbert's pass arrived, the ball bouncing harmlessly to the grass. The play was a tangible example of the meticulous work Williams – the 2023 third-round pick out of Syracuse – does each week.
His days are planned out exact, his notebooks thick with his handwriting. There are different colored pens, different highlighters. "It's a whole thing," Williams said.
The Cardinals have worked hard to infuse young talent into a cornerbacks room that was far from the time when Patrick Peterson led the way for the room. The last two years, they have spent multiple draft picks early on the position – Max Melton in the second round, Elijah Jones in the third round, as well as Williams – in addition to grabbing current starter Starling Thomas V off waivers last year.
Williams isn't Peterson, although he does wear the same jersey number – 21 – and has the same lofty goals.
"You want to be known as a playmaker, someone who is a game changer," Williams said. "I'm trying to be that guy here."
That starts on Monday mornings and doesn't stop during the week. Coaches have told him to be wary of his work habits and to clear some time away from the game. To this, Williams smiles. He knows his reputation. He knows no other way.
"We have a guaranteed 18 weeks," Williams said. "If I put all my focus and as much time I have into that now, it'll make the offseason go a lot better knowing I gave what I have. Makes next season easier, not dealing with a guilt thing, 'Damn, if I just would've done this.'"
WHEN WILLIAMS met the Cardinals at the Scouting combine in 2023, the decision-makers were wowed with his 20 minutes, a player that – despite being in the middle of ACL rehab after he had suffered during his final collegiate season – they targeted almost immediately.
His maturity resonated. So did his "football character," the traits then-new coach Jonathan Gannon and GM Monti Ossenfort sought. His drive was apparent then. How he eats up his time now shouldn't be a surprise.
"(I ask him) 'Social life?' 'Ahh, a little bit,'" defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said. "'I heard you went out to dinner, is that true?' He's like, 'Maaaan, I still have a life.'"
Gannon said he has talked to Williams about "streamlining" his evenings in season, to be sure Williams is not only getting rest but unplugging from the game.
"You look at his iPad, it's like, 'Dude how'd you watch six hours of tape from seven to midnight? Like, there's only five hours,'" Gannon quipped.
With the Cardinals on a bye week following Sunday's game against the Jets, the coaches have told Williams not to come to the facility, that he should go somewhere.
Williams is asked if he will heed the advice. He smiles. "No. I'm staying here. I can chill after the season."
The Cardinals have two other safety/slot hybrids in Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson; Williams has already meshed well with the duo. It's not uncommon for them to break out a tablet during practice, working to fix issues in real time.
"G takes it to another level," Thompson said. "He plays the game within the game."
Watching video started in high school, although Williams acknowledged he didn't know what he was really looking for at the time. At Syracuse, teammates Ifeatu Melifonwu and Andre Cisco were the ones to train him in such things.
Even now, to be an in-season visitor like his Mom doesn't change the cadence. There is work to be done.
"He has a process that he doesn't allow anyone to mess up," Gannon said. "That's a good thing."
THE ONE TIME Williams wasn't as detailed from start to finish? After he tore his ACL in his final college season.
All the work he had been doing felt worthless. He was down. Bad.
He did his rehab both at college and leading up to the draft as he was asked. But he wasn't doing extra. Then the Cardinals drafted him and he realized that they "legit cared for me."
"It flipped a switch in my brain," Williams said. "These people are putting so much time and effort into this, you don't want to let them down."
He pushed to return by midseason. He made his first NFL interception in Seattle. He's evolved into the Cardinals' top cornerback. Not that he'll notice, whether fans or media are propping him up. He made that mistake in college, feeling the love of social media until he had a bad game, and then saw all the love turn to criticism.
Since then, Williams stays on X (formerly Twitter) but mutes his name and stays away from that conversation.
"When I make good plays I'll watch it a bunch of times, like 'Damn, that's what's up,'" he said. "But when I am writing down my notes, It's not 'You did this good.' That's my job. It's what I'm messing up, what I need to focus on in practice."
On the season, Williams has allowed just 13 catches on the 31 times he has been targeted, for 124 yards and a TD. He has an interception, and his 41.9 completion percentage against is fourth-lowest in the NFL.
So the journey on Sunday night postgame begins each week, rewatching the game he played. Monday, it's two games of the upcoming opponent, and the wide receiver release tapes of the next team, and studying the depth chart.
That begins the days of watching "normal down" pass plays, and watching concepts, and then third downs, and red zone. All the while, Williams' notebook grows. However the result on Sunday, he trusts his process. Not every game will be perfect.
"The funny part?" Williams said. "When the game is over, I literally forget everything I wrote down."
(Not to worry – the notebook doesn't go anywhere, so he has a reference point to start with the second division games.)
One note that never changes each week: Williams writes "Win" near the top. Not the game. Each play. It might be the most important point he must make to himself.
"Sometimes you're not going to know what they are going to do," Williams said. "So you just have to play ball."
