ORCHARD PARK - He was supposed to be the odd man out ... the weak link on an improving defensive line.

What else were we to think when the Bills traded for one defensive tackle and signed another as a free agent with a first-round draft pick already in the mix at that position.

That had to be a message to Kyle Williams, the likable but undersized tackle from LSU whom the Bills took in the fifth round of the 2006 draft.

Nobody questioned his intelligence or his effort. Williams has always been the cliched “high motor” player.

But even though he’s 306 pounds, 11 more than when he was drafted, there was a perception he could be outmuscled.

Except nobody told him.

And here Buffalo is unbeaten after three games and the 25-year-old Williams is still starting at right tackle next to three-time Pro Bowler Marcus Stroud and the Bills’ defense ranks No. 1 in third-down defense, second in red zone touchdown percentage, fifth-best in fewest yards surrendered and sixth in least points allowed.

In the tackle rotation, it’s John McCargo, the tackle taken in the first round of that ‘06 draft, waiting along with Spencer Johnson, the free agent from Minnesota, to rotate in for the starters.

But Williams refusal to relinquish his position is a surprise to exactly nobody inside the Bills.

In three games he has 15 tackles, third among defensive linemen, including a team-leading three for a loss, plus a sack and plenty of high-energy play.

“WHEN WE drafted Kyle, you watched him play in college and he just made plays all of the time,” coach Dick Jauron pointed out. “ No matter who (LSU) played, it looked like the same player ... no matter who played on him.

“Then when he came to us, we said the same thing, ‘This looks like the same player we watched in college. It doesn’t look like he’s overmatched in the NFL, and he was never overmatched in the college game.’ That’s still how he plays.”

Jauron added, “The guy is just a really good football player. Probably more than that, he’s a very good athlete, a very aware athlete.

“Since after year one, there was never a time where we thought we needed to get a better tackle than Kyle. We always thought ‘This is the guy.’ He gives you everything he’s got. He’s smart, he understands what offenses are trying to do, he communicates and he’s just a good teammate.”

AND WILLIAMS, who doesn’t have a cocky bone in his body, but is extremely confident, isn’t surprised by his level of play.

“How many guys get drafted each year ... 200 or so?” he asked. “I was like 130. You have guys that don’t have all of the measurables but are good players that fall because they didn’t run a 4.4 or for whatever reason they don’t measure out just the way that (NFL scouts) want. Some people slip through the cracks.

“(I) didn’t think (the fifth round was) where I was going to be drafted based on my production in college, but that’s where it was and I’m here now because of it and I don’t have any regrets about what’s happened in my past.”

Besides, Williams was convinced he would succeed, no matter where he was picked.

“I had high expectations for myself,” he said. “It’s not being brash or anything like that, but I played well in college. I played for a team (that) won a national championship, an SEC championship. We were in the top five, playing the best teams in the country.

“I was very productive in college, had a great career, and I figured it would carry over because I work hard and I play hard. I love the game, I like to learn about the game, and you learn more when you get here from your coaches and from watching more film. I figured I would get better and it would translate over into the NFL game.”

It has, and his teammates are convinced.

“I’ve known that Kyle can play for a long time,” said end Chris Kelsay, a defensive captain.� “He’s been overlooked because of his size and his tangibles.

“This is a guy who goes out and practices and plays hard.� He’s made plays ever since he has been here.� It is not like he just all of a sudden came about that this year.� He’s been getting a lot of tackles every year.�

“Even in training camp there was competition at that position. He took it as a challenge and he’s done everything he could to keep his job.”

(Chuck Pollock, the Times Herald sports editor, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)

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