By most accounts, Dan Williams had a great season in 2015. Naturally that would suggest he had the inside track on the starting nose tackle job. Well, if he did, Justin Ellis has overtaken him pretty quickly.
We are in just the fourth day of camp and Justin Ellis has supplanted Williams as the first team nose tackle. Making it clear, there are very few spots on this roster that are not up for grabs.
"It’s pretty much open competition everywhere and we really like the idea of playing the guy who’s performing the best and who’s going to help us win on Sundays," Jack Del Rio said. "Thus far, we as a staff think that ‘Jelly’ [Justin Ellis] is ahead of Dan, but we’re a long way from lining it up in September. ‘Jelly’ is off to a great start."
According to Del Rio, what should be read into this isn’t that Williams lost the job, but that Ellis won it. It’s a good sign the third year defensive tackle.
"Dan’s a good football player," Del Rio continued. "Competition brings out the best. Right now as we’re stacking up our practices, ‘Jelly’ is a little bit ahead of Dan.
Del Rio made it clear that both Ellis and Dan Williams will see the field whether in a rotation to keep them fresh or in different sets.
"They’re all going to play," he added. "It’s just a matter of who gets to trot out first, but they’re all going to play."
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