As a Minnesota Vikings fan, Sunday’s matchup may include the two teams you least wanted to watch in Super Bowl LIX. We’re happy not to see the coronation of a division rival, but many of us have at least as much disdain for the Philadelphia Eagles as we do for the Detroit Lions. If you don’t live in Kansas or Missouri, you’re probably sick of seeing the Chiefs on the national stage.
But what if I told you that you didn’t have to hate-watch this game on Sunday? What if one of the biggest contributors to the success of the 2025 Vikings was playing in the big game?
Don’t watch Patrick Mahomes’ dark magic, shield your eyes from Nick Sirianni’s emotional gesturing, and shift your gaze to defensive tackle Milton Williams.
The 25-year-old Louisiana Tech grad enjoyed a breakout season in 2024 and will be on many teams’ radar. His youth and upside will garner him a handsome contract, and the Vikings may be the perfect team to pay it.
Williams will not add much as a run defender. At 6’3”, 290 lbs., he’s a pass-rush specialist and an acceptable run defender. However, Phillymainlyy deployed him on passing downs, and he played only 500 snaps this season. While this doesn’t lighten Harrison Phillips’ load as a nose tackle, Williams complements him as a single-gap penetrator to Phillips’ two-gap lock-peak-shed style.
The pending free-agent projects well into Jerry Tillery‘s role in base defense from this past season. However, I think he could be more of an every-down player in Minnesota. If the Vikings re-sign Jonathan Bullard or bring in a similar run-stopping 3-technique type, that would allow Williams to settle in as a 5-tech/4i in Minnesota’s 3-4 defense. In sub packages, he could occupy Jihad Ward’s role as a pass-rusher from a shade nose or 1-technique over the center and guard.
Williams’ presence as a pass rusher would be a godsend to Brian Flores’ scheme. He has the speed to stunt like Flores loves to do and can punish interior one-on-ones when Minnesota leverages the opponent’s pass protection rules. Tillery mostly played early downs and logged only seven pressures this season. Ward logged 31 in 395 pass-rush snaps, good for a 7.8% pressure rate.
On the other hand, Williams generated 40 pressures this season with a 13.2% pressure rate, top 10 among interior defensive linemen. He was also fifth among all defenders in ESPN’s pass-rush win-rate metric. Consolidating those two roles into one player could open some things up for Flores as a play caller and make his fronts less predictable based on who is on the field.
No. 93 has a chance to meaningfully impact the Super Bowl on Sunday. In all likelihood, Joe Thuney will be back at left tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs, leaving Mike Caliendo at left guard. While Caliendo has played admirably, he is a below average starter at the position. Philly star defensive tackle Jalen Carter lines up almost exclusively on the defensive left side of the field, placing him over Pro Bowler Trey Smith. We can surmise that this will grant Williams plenty of one-on-ones with Caliendo, which would be an advantage for Milton.
Immediate interior pressure is one of the only ways to disrupt a quick-game offense like Kansas City’s and a quarterback like Mahomes. Williams is a great player to root for on Sunday if you’re in the camp that wants anybody but the Chiefs to win it all.
If the Vikings land him, it would be a big-time contract that may push $100 million. That seems steep for a pass-rush specialist, but Williams, 25, may only be scratching the surface of his potential.
Vikings fans have plenty of time to grieve the season and even more to prognosticate about next year. With no real rooting interest for most of us on Super Bowl Sunday, lock into a guy who would make a lot of sense for Minnesota to pursue. Even if he doesn’t end up on the Vikings in 2025, we’ll always have that time when we thought he might.
