CBS Sports: Aeneas Williams is the Cardinals biggest NFL Draft steal
Apr 22, 2017, 10:05 AM
The Arizona Cardinals did not have much success in the 1990s, but selecting Aeneas Williams in the 1991 NFL Draft was one of the bright spots.
In fact, Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports believes Williams was the biggest draft steal ever for Arizona.
Wilson writes:
Aeneas Williams, DB, 1991 sixth-round pick
Williams, drafted out of Southern, spent the first 10 years of his 14-year Hall of Fame career with the Cardinals, where he was one of the league’s best defensive backs. In terms of Pro Football Reference’s Career Approximate Value metric (CarAV), which is a general measure of productivity that allows you to compare players across positions, Williams ranked behind only Brett Favre in total CarAV among the 1991 draft class.
Williams, who was chosen out of Southern, vastly outperformed his sixth-round selection. He made eight Pro Bowls, three All-Pro teams and was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2014.
In his career, Williams notched 55 career interceptions, nine of which were returned for touchdowns.
During Williams’ nine-year career with Arizona, the team only made the playoffs once in 1998, but it did win, beating the Dallas Cowboys 20-7 in the Wild Card round. Williams picked off Cowboys QB Troy Aikman twice in the game.
Williams finished his career with the St. Louis Rams, playing with them from 2001-2004.
