Surrounded by Experience, Eagles' Milton Williams Soaking It All in

Surrounded by experience with Eagles, Williams soaking it all in originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Imagine what it’s like to be Milton Williams right about now?

He’s a 23-year-old second-year defensive lineman on a team that has five defensive linemen who are 32 or older and have played 58 seasons, started 707 games and made 16 Pro Bowls.

How can you not learn being around that sort of experience?

“Man, I just try to be myself and try to keep open ears and just listen and try to pick up on what these guys are talking about,” Williams said. “They’ve all played a lot of ball, they have a lot of knowledge and they're still playing at a very high level this late in their career, so I’m just pulling things from their game every day and trying to add to mine. 

“Definitely has helped me having them around. They get out there and they get to talking football and I’m just off to the side just kind of listening. They know ball, they know the ins and outs, and just being around those guys is really going to help me elevate my game.”

With Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Linval Joseph, Ndamukong Suh and Robert Quinn, the Eagles are the first team in NFL history with five defensive linemen 32 or older who’ve all been to at least one Pro Bowl.

Only three other teams have had five defensive linemen 32 and older on the roster at the same time (1999 Vikings, 2003 Patriots, 2006 Dolphins).

Among active defensive linemen, Suh, Joseph, Cox, Graham and Quinn rank 2nd, 7th, 8th, 12th and 27th in games played.

Talk about experience.

Five of the Eagles’ seven-oldest players are defensive linemen (along with Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson). 

Williams, who doesn’t turn 24 until April, is the Eagles’ youngest player currently in the regular rotation on either side of the football. 

Special teamer Nakobe Dean turns 22 in a couple weeks, and Jordan Davis, who’s on IR, turns 23 in January. 

Williams has been watching and learning from Cox and B.G. for a couple years. Now he’s got three more vets to study.

“Anybody who’s been in the league as long as those guys is doing something right,” Williams said. “They know their bodies, they know how to eat right, take care of themselves, treatment, working out, stretching and doing all those kinds of things and as you see they’re still going. 

“I look up to them and it makes me go harder every day seeing them guys still being able to do it at a high level.

“And it’s not just football. As far as being a man, taking care of your money, dealing with people, the media, all that stuff. I’m getting everything in that room with them guys.”

The Eagles don’t bring in veterans just so they can mentor the younger guys, but it is a valuable byproduct of adding older, experienced players. And it's something Nick Sirianni encourages and expects from his veterans.

“It's huge. Yeah, that is an enormous advantage,” Sirianni said. “A huge part of getting better is being able to watch people, great people of the past, see their techniques, see how they did it, see if we can get our bodies to do that, and now we have that resource of being able to actually talk to that person. … 

“When they're sitting in the building and you have unlimited abilities to do that and unlimited opportunities to do that, that's huge.”

Williams has played well as a rotational tackle in his two seasons, but there will likely be a time where he and Davis are the starters, and he’ll be the one passing down all the lessons he’s learned to the younger guys.

“You just see how they do things, how they carry themselves, and you’re like, ‘OK, that’s all I’ve got to do?’ I’m going to do it just like them,” Williams said.

The reality is that when you add a Davis and a Suh, there are going to be fewer snaps for someone like Williams. He played only 18 snaps Sunday, second-fewest of his career.

He might be learning more, but he’ll be playing less. At least for now.

“I’m just doing whatever I’ve got to do to help us win and keep us going in the right direction,” he said. “If that’s playing more snaps, I’m ready for it. If it’s playing fewer snaps, then I’ll keep doing what I’ve been doing and make my impact when I do come in the game. 

“I feel like I’m playing well and hopefully everybody else is noticing. It’s all about making the most of your opportunity.”

Suh has played 13 seasons and never missed a game with an injury. Joseph has averaged 15 games per season since 2011, Cox has missed four games in his career. Javon Hargrave — at 29 a baby in the bunch — has missed two games in his seven seasons.

Williams sees how these guys take care of themselves and how it’s translated into long careers, and he dreams about doing the same thing.

“Definitely,” he said. “I love this game. This game has given me a lot. Thank God for the opportunity. Planning to do this for a long time.”

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