The New York Jets announced Friday that they have signed former USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams, who was selected with the sixth overall pick in last week's draft. The Jets now have their entire 2015 draft class under contract.
Williams has been praised as perhaps the best player in his class, and his slip to the sixth pick was seen as a stroke of fortuity for the perpetually star-crossed Jets. NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported that Williams may have dipped in the first round due to a shoulder injury discovered during the pre-draft process.
"Leonard Williams, from all the guys I've seen so far, has been the most dominating player," NFL Media draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said before the draft. "Everything you want -- the size, the length, the explosiveness, the versatility. You can play him all over the line on defense. He reminds me a lot of Richard Seymour. That's pretty good company to keep."
The 6-foot-5, 302-pound Williams will join Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Damon "Snacks" Harrison on a defensive line expected to be one of the NFL's best in 2015.
The Jets have invested seven first-round picks in defensive players over the past six years. The last offensive player to go in the first round? That would be quarterback Mark Sanchez, who went fifth overall in 2009.
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