We all expected more out of rookie defensive end Leonard Williams, didn’t we?
How could we not after being sucked in by the power of the NFL hype machine, which churns at its highest RPMs during the league’s annual draft?
When the Jets picked Williams in the first round out of USC, the legions of NFL draft “experts’’ across the cable-TV nation raved on about how he was the best player in the draft class and how much of a steal he was at No. 6 overall.
With that came the requisite unrealistic projections of production — double-digit sacks, dominant force in the running game, Pro Bowl as a rookie and so forth.
“When I first got drafted, people were on social media saying, ‘Oh, you’re going to get 20 sacks this year,’ ’’ Williams told The Post Monday. “But that’s not common for a rookie.’’
Williams, who at 21 years old is the youngest player on the Jets roster and one of the youngest in the league, is doing just fine through the first nine games of his NFL career, but he has not come close to approaching the lofty projections that were attached to him on draft day.
He’s a young developing player who has helped mostly in the Jets’ run defense, which is ranked No. 1 in the NFL, but he has lacked in the pass rush (he has a half sack).
As a result of both the return of Sheldon Richardson from his four-game ban for substance abuse and the fact he is a work-in-progress in the pass rush, Williams has been subbed off the field on third downs in recent games.
The Jets’ scheme, too, has been altered since Richardson’s return, going more often to a 4-3 alignment to utilize the team’s strength, which is its surplus of quality defensive linemen. That has pushed Williams inside more often, a place where he faces more double-teams and has fewer chances to simply line up over the tackle and beat him one-on-one.
Williams, humble by nature and a coachable, sponge-type learner, said he is OK with that, because he understands he needs to be better and he’s willing to do what it takes to get there. But you have to wonder if the Jets would not be better off trying to get Williams some more chances on the outside in pass-rushing situations considering how quick a learner he is.
The best thing to happen to Williams’ NFL career to date was Richardson being banned for those first four games, because that immediately thrust him right into the starting lineup — lack of experience be damned.
“It worked out great for me, because I’m a hands-on learner,’’ Williams said. “I have to be out there feeling the game and seeing how it is to learn fast. So throwing me out there is my best way of learning. That’s how I learned how to swim. My brother just threw me into deep end, and I learned the hard way.’’
Indeed, Williams’ brother, Nathan, who is four years older than Leonard, tossed him into the community pool when he was 6 and let his kid brother have at it. Maybe the Jets coaches should do the same on passing downs — throw him out there more often to accelerate his growth.
“I definitely think I can get a lot better,’’ Williams said. “This game is a privilege. You don’t want to take advantage of it. I feel like what’s gotten me this far is working hard. So I can’t ever get away from that.’’
Defensive lineman Damon Harrison, the player Williams credits most for helping him “learn to be a pro,’’ said he sees that in Williams and is impressed.
“He doesn’t have a first-round-draft-pick kind of attitude,’’ Harrison said. “The guy works. He puts his head down and works. He doesn’t have that diva persona. You would think that he was a fifth-round pick, a guy trying to make the team. But his talent speaks for itself.’’
Williams has shown the ability to be a factor in the pass rush. His best game came against the Dolphins in London, where he had five quarterback hits and four hurries on Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
We have not seen a lot of pass-rush prowess from him since.
“We’ve got seven more weeks to prove ourselves,’’ Williams said. “Individually, I have seven more games to prove myself. You only have one rookie season.’’
His, so far, has not been spectacular. But it has not been at all bad, either.
“I don’t think he’s had a bad game,’’ coach Todd Bowles said.
Even without the double-digit sack total, which might come eventually, there’s something to be said for consistency — especially at age 21.