METAIRIE, La. -- P.J. Williams has now played in a total of two career preseason games. But the New Orleans Saints' "redshirt" cornerback is growing up fast.
He gave up his first touchdown in the first quarter against the Houston Texans on Saturday night. He then responded with his first interception in the second quarter.
"Oh man, it was good. A good feeling. I definitely wanted to come back and make a play to make up for that," said Williams, who said he didn't locate the ball in the air on the TD pass to Texans rookie Will Fuller but did a better job of getting his eyes and his hands on the ball when he undercut Fuller in the end zone the next time around.
Williams knows there will still be some growing pains but the third-round draft pick out of Florida State, who spent all of last year on injured reserve because of a torn hamstring suffered in training camp, doesn't lack for confidence.
He said his mindset won't change one bit now that he is the projected starter in the wake of New Orleans' decision to release veteran CB Keenan Lewis last week.
And he said he has not exceeded his own expectations with his strong performance this summer.
"Oh no, not at all. I set high expectations for myself," Williams said. "And I'm definitely looking to be one of the great players in this league. And every day I'm working to do that."
Williams (6-foot, 196 pounds) is a physical corner who said he feels comfortable in press-man coverage, which he did a lot of at Florida State.
"I love to play man-to-man, and we do a lot of that here. So it's definitely a good (fit) for me," Williams said. "So I'm just looking to improve and be able to do all the little things and just make myself to be a good pro. I played man in college, but it's different in the NFL, it's a lot of technical things. So you've gotta just be able to improve every day."
