It didn’t take long after the New Orleans Saints announced their signing of free agent running back Jamaal Williams for coach Dennis Allen to get a text from an old colleague.
“As soon as we signed him, (Lions head coach Dan Campbell) was the first person I got a text from,” Allen said. “It’s pretty cool to see some of the texts you get about a player, and it speaks to how they felt about him and the type of guy you’re acquiring.”
Williams was one of the bigger additions the Saints made to their club in the first wave of free agency. He signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Saints on the heels of his best professional season yet, after rushing for 1,066 yards and an NFL-best 17 touchdowns for the Lions last year.
Speaking about the signing for the first time at this week’s owners meetings in Phoenix, Allen and Saints general manager spoke about the type of player they believe they’re getting in Williams.
Both Allen and Loomis spoke about Williams as a sort of ideal complement to Alvin Kamara.
“He’s got a physical run style,” Allen said. “That’s something we can use. Obviously with Alvin, we have a dynamic playmaker at that position. But yet I think we can use the big, physical, bruising type of running back. He’s certainly proved he can do that down there in a goal line situation.”
Loomis added that the Saints were “looking for someone who complements what we have already with Alvin” and Williams clearly fit that mold.
“He’s a great complement, and yet he can also be the feature back for us if we need him to be,” Loomis said.
Upgrading the running back room was a big priority for the Saints this offseason, for a couple reasons.
First, Kamara is coming off back-to-back seasons in which his explosive production has waned while his usage has skyrocketed. New Orleans has not been able to find a consistent No. 2 option at running back, forcing them to use Kamara as a bell-cow — which has appeared to sap his big-play ability.
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