When the Philadelphia Eagles selected Milton Williams with the 73rd overall selection during Round 3 of the 2021 NFL Draft, we admittedly had to perform a Google search. Despite being the football nerds we are, we hadn't watched enough of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs to offer a fair opinion about his skill set, but we weren't stressed about it. We trusted Philly's business model.
During the era that Andy Reid paced the sidelines as general manager and head coach, 'Big Red' typically spent his first-round draft-day selections on offensive or defensive linemen. Howie Roseman learned from Reid as a member of the front office, and he has carried that same way of thinking throughout his tenure as vice president and general manager.
We said all of that to state the following. Picking Williams made a ton of sense. We just didn't know much about him, but taking an interior defensive lineman during the third round? Sure... Regardless of what we knew about his NCAA career, we could dig the selection.
We trusted the Birds' scouts and brain trust. We believed in Milt because they did, and what do you know? He turned out to be one heck of a role player, one we have enjoyed cheering for.
So, what might an extension look like for Milton Williams if the Eagles determine they want to give him one?
So, what do you know? As has often been the case, especially recently, Howie Roseman and company knew what they were doing. Williams has been an awesome find. He has only started 19 of the 67 regular-season games he has appeared in. That's mostly because he's been part of an amazing Eagles rotation, but he has always been great when called upon.
Milt has also appeared in nine postseason games with one start. His shining moment came when Philly needed him to shine his brightest. How about a four-tackle, two-sack performance in Super Bowl LIX? Two of those tackles resulted in a loss of yardage. He also recovered a fumble, one he forced while only playing 45% of the snaps.
Time flies, and this offseason, he's one of Philly's impending free agents. Might he hang around or find a home elsewhere? Spotrac lists the following as his market value:
They see a three-year deal worth $36,000,675 with an average salary of $12,000,225. That ranks 180th in the NFL and would also rank 16th among defensive ends.
So how does Philly value Williams? That's the important question. He'd be a starter on so many NFL rosters, but he's an Eagles reserve because the team is so loaded at the position.
Spotrac compared him to other defensive ends partially because he can play both inside and outside. That versatility could help him cash in, or there's a chance he takes a slight hometown discount to stay in the Midnight Green (maybe).
He made it clear that he'd "for sure" like to stay with the Birds. An Eagles insider reported recently he believes there's a 20% chance he's on next year's roster. We'll see what happens. It's going to be fun to see how all of this unfolds come March.
