Can the second-year man follow in Terrel Bernard’s footsteps and make a big leap in 2024?
The Buffalo Bills have added depth at linebacker for the 2024 NFL season after experiencing a slew of injuries at the position last season. While the new faces are sure to draw most of the attention, there is a hidden benefit to a year spent dealing with injuries: The following season, those inexperienced “depth players” who were thrust into larger roles are suddenly more experienced reserves.
Sometimes, those players develop into solid contributors after going back to a reserve role. It happened in the secondary when Dane Jackson went from little-used reserve to sudden starter and then back to backup again. Whereas he might have been overwhelmed at times in a larger role during the 2021 season, in the following years, he was a much better backup and spot-starter, and that early experience of being thrown from the frying pan to the fire was a key factor in accelerating his development.
In today’s installment of “91 players in 91 days,” we discuss a linebacker who struggled when asked to take on a larger role on defense as a rookie. However, he’s someone who the team hopes can take a step forward in his second season.
Dorian Williams
- Number: 42
- Position: LB
- Height/Weight: 6’2”, 230 pounds
- Age: 23 (24 on 6/8/2025)
- Experience/Draft: 2; selected by Buffalo in the third round (No. 91 overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft
- College: Tulane
- Acquired: Third-round draft choice
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Williams enters the second year of his four-year, $5,472,806 rookie contract. In 2024, he’ll carry a cap hit of $1,223,365 if he makes the roster. If Buffalo releases him, they’ll be on the hook for a dead-cap charge of $686,076.
2023 Recap: Williams parlayed a strong showing at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, where he ran a 4.49-second 40-yard dash, showed off a 33.5” vertical, and leapt 10’ in the broad jump, into a landing spot in the third round with Buffalo. He was productive in the preseason, notching 11 total tackles in two scrimmage games, but he wasn’t tapped to start in the Bills’ two-linebacker system.
That changed early on, however, when stud linebacker Matt Milano went down with a leg fracture. Williams started the week after Milano’s injury and made 10 tackles in Buffalo’s 14-9 win over the New York Giants. He started the following week, as well, in a game the Bills lost 29-25 to the New England Patriots. Williams played on just 35% of the defensive snaps in that one after he was benched for Tyrel Dodson.
Dodson started the remaining games in which he was healthy, relegating Williams to a role on special teams and as a reserve. He finished the year sixth on the team in special teams snaps, and he was second on the club in special teams tackles with six. He totaled 40 tackles, two quarterback hits, and a pass breakup in the regular season, adding 10 tackles and a tackle for loss in the playoffs to his ledger.
Positional outlook: Williams is one of eight off-ball linebackers vying for position on the 53-man roster. Matt Milano, Terrel Bernard, Nicholas Morrow, Baylon Spector, Joe Andreessen, Deion Jones, and Edefuan Ulofoshio are the others.
2024 Offseason: Williams is healthy and has participated in offseason work. He’s ready for training camp.
2024 Season outlook: If healthy, Milano and Bernard are the starters. That’s not a question. The question is whether or not Milano will be ready by the beginning of the season, and if he isn’t, who among Buffalo’s corps of reserves will step into the starting lineup in his place?
With Dodson having left Buffalo for the Seattle Seahawks, that leaves a competition for that third linebacker spot. Williams is strong, quick, and athletic, and he’s clearly the best athlete of the bunch, so the team likely wants for him to slide into Dodson’s role as the third linebacker. However, Williams suffered multiple mental lapses last season, which is why he was benched in spite of the fact that he’s a better athlete than Dodson.
Those lapses are to be expected from a rookie, and while it may be a lot to ask of a second-year player to erase them, it’s what Williams is going to have to do in order to earn a higher place in the team’s pecking order.
I assume that the competition for that coveted top reserve spot involves Williams, Spector, and Morrow as the most realistic competitors. Spector’s advantage is that he has the most time in the system, Morrow’s is that he has the most experience in the NFL, and Williams’ is that he’s the most athletic.
We saw flashes of excellence from both Williams and Spector last season, but I don’t think that necessarily means Morrow isn’t going to be a factor. The linebacker group will be an intriguing watch all summer, and which players see time with the first-team defense while they slowly work Milano back into form is going to be essential information all summer long. Williams has the potential to be a dynamic player on defense. Let’s see if he can unlock that potential in Year 2.