GREEN BAY — Evan Williams traces the success he had in his first NFL season — including a spot on the Pro Football Writers of America’s All-Rookie team — not to himself, but elsewhere.

“I’d honestly give it to my surroundings more than anything,” the Green Bay Packers now second-year safety said as the team’s mandatory minicamp and offseason program were wrapping up last month, pointing to defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, defensive backs coach Ryan Downard and first-team All-Pro safety Xavier McKinney.

“The coaching staff, for just laying out a plan and making it simple for us — allowing us to go out there and play fast [and] use our instincts. Instincts are something I definitely hang my hat on as a player.

“[So] I give props to the coaching staff, and also just the experience in our room. ‘X’ helped me a lot last year as far as picking up the playbook and how to handle yourself as a pro, how to watch film.

“If I had to give myself any credit, I’d just say I kind of hang my hat on being able to pick things up and not make the same mistake twice.”

Williams’ humility notwithstanding, he proved to be the perfect runningmate for McKinney, with the versatility and savvy to play off McKinney and allow Hafley to use him and McKinney interchangeably on a defense that ranked in the top 10 in the 32-team NFL both in total defense (fifth, at 314.5 yards per game) and scoring defense (sixth, at 19.9 points per game).

A fourth-round pick out of Oregon, the 5-foot-11, 200-pound Williams registered 47 tackles (30 solo), one tackle for loss, an interception, three pass break-ups and a forced fumble in 13 games (six starts).

But he also missed the final three games of the regular season with a quadricep injury — and another game earlier in the year with a hamstring injury — before returning for the Packers’ season-ending NFC wild card playoff loss to the eventual Super Bowl LIX-champion Philadelphia Eagles, recording four tackles and a pass break-up.

Those four absences did not go unnoticed by the coaching staff, and when asked what stood out to him from Williams’ first year, head coach Matt LaFleur immediately pointed to the time Williams spent on the injury report.

“He’s got to continue to learn his body — because there were some injuries last year — and just to make sure that he’s available,” LaFleur said. “[It’s a matter of] just how you get your body prepared for practice, how you rehab, just the preventative maintenance, what you’re putting into your body. I think it takes time to learn that, and as you grow and mature, I think you’re a little bit more mindful of the things that you’re doing.”

And Williams’ play? “I think it’s just building on what he’s already done and being consistent with it again. [He’s] another guy that loves the game. He’s extremely intelligent. He comes in with the right mentality. And he just works.”

For his part, Williams understands that while his football IQ and extensive college experience — he spent four seasons at Fresno State before joining the Ducks, playing 52 career college games over those five years — helped him hit the ground running in the pros, he must elevate his game in Year 2.

And the experience he gained should pay big dividends in 2025.

“It’s been pretty big for me. I feel like I’m a guy that learns through experience, learns through being in the fire more than just sitting back and watching,” Williams explained. “I feel like each rep, each step I’m taking this year, I’m just gaining confidence, gaining experience.

“Honestly, I’m just looking to take that step [toward] being a confident football player out there and hopefully I’ll have the defensive playbook in my back pocket so I can take that next step and think about other things: ‘OK, what is the offense trying to do here? What is this formation telling me?’

“I feel like I could take steps in that department and become a more proactive player rather than just being reactive. Whenever I’m on the field, I want a coach to have the utmost trust I’m going to execute and be where I need to be.”

About our “Most Important Packers of 2025” Series: When the Packers kick off their seventh training camp under head coach Matt LaFleur on July 23, they’ll do so with a host of players facing pivotal seasons LaFleur clearly believes he has ample talent to be a Super Bowl contender — even if he didn’t want to say so as the offseason program came to a close — but turning that belief into reality will require many of those players to produce at higher levels than they have in the past. This series, which began in 2010 on ESPNWisconsin.com, examines each of those players and how the team’s success hinges on their contributions.

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