OXNARD, California — During the 2018 season, the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive line battled through injury without a consistent group of five players in the lineup. They managed to fight through and provided Dak Prescott with an average of 2.86 seconds to release the ball (ranked sixth in league), and consistently opened up running lanes at the line of scrimmage for Ezekiel Elliott, confirmed by his rushing title.
Rookie, Connor Williams, rotated in the o-line as injuries piled up. The Cowboys’ 2018 second-round pick started eight games at left guard until he suffered a knee injury against the Tennessee Titans. He played through the injury but his knee flared up following the Monday night loss. Williams underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and became active on a limited basis a couple of weeks later against the Falcons.
No.52 then battled Xavier Su-a’Filo for the left guard spot. The competition helped elevate Williams’s performance level and when I spoke with him on the friendly competition he stated, “ Me and X definitely push each other. We are good friends, but on the field we compete and I think it has made both of us better. “
It definitely has. He has spent more time in the weight room during the offseason and was one of the few players on the Cowboys’ roster to be given the off-season workout award.
Williams told me that both gaining weight and receiving the award were “major goals and accomplishments” for himself.
The 22-year-old is a Texas boy. He grew up in Coppell and went to the University of Texas. He was raised a Cowboys’ fan and now gets to play for his hometown team.
“ He was highly regarded in the draft, “ Jason Garrett described to me. “ When we had our Dallas Day, it’s an opportunity for a lot of the local high school players and local college players to come over and it’s a great day for all of us. To see these kids who grew up watching the Cowboys get a chance to workout for the team…potentially when the guys are highly regarded first or second round picks, typically if they come over, you shake hands and have a meeting with them and try to get to know them. We found out a lot about Connor when he came over to Dallas. He said ‘I’m working out coach’ and was first in line. He had a great workout with us and that reaffirmed what he was about. We drafted him and felt good about where he was physically and intangibly. That is what we have seen from him.”
Williams continues to work hard every day at refining his craft and having Travis Frederick back as the centerpiece of Dallas’ offensive line, will only improve the second-year player.
