I found these run D stats surprising because ESPN absolutely TRASHED his ability as a run stopper. They said he was soft and didn't like to force the issue. Glad to hear that they might be wrong on that.
I agree with you that there is a good chance he could be our starter come week one. When I look at him play, he's honestly just like Byrd (which I am saying as a good thing). I was really worried about this year because Byrd did some serious work completely shutting down the middle of the field in coverage for us last year when we played man with our corners on the outside, and I didn't think we were going to be able to replace him with Bell or Bush. Williams is very instinctual, just like Byrd, which helps not only with getting picks, but with taking away receivers and shutting down the middle of the field. Getting beat by WRs on the outside is one thing but if you are constantly getting torched by TEs up the seam and WRs on post routes then your defense has no chance. Of course no one ever sees those plays if they aren't INTs, but they are big for a defense. Byrd took a lot of that away last year (although I know no one wants to admit it) and I think Williams plays like that as well. I'm really excited about the pick and I think he has the potential and ability to be the Byrd that played in BUF, not NOLA. We got a good one!