Marcus Williams selected No. 42 by Saints in 2nd round

SALT LAKE CITY — Standout safety Marcus Williams was selected No. 42 overall Friday in the second round of the NFL Draft.

The former University of Utah player and two-time All-Pac-12 safety was drafted by the New Orleans Saints. He’s the second player drafted from the U. in 2017 and the 13th player in school history to be drafted in the second round.

“It’s a great feeling just hearing my name called. I can’t even explain it right now with all my family around," Williams told media after being drafted. "Being able to come and be a part of that organization it’s amazing. It’s really amazing and I can’t wait to get out there and start this new journey in my life and be able to get my name (called)."

Williams added that he's excited for the opportunity to learn from the veterans on the team and try to overcome the misperception that he's not a "hard hitter."

“I’m a pretty good tackler and I don’t miss many tackles," he said. "So that kind of upsets me because I never miss that many tackles before and they say 'Marcus misses (too) many tackles' and that’s not the type of player I am. I’m getting them to the ground, no matter how I’m doing it.”

The Saints do not necessarily need to fill a spot at safety but felt the need to draft Williams. He'll be competing against Jairus Byrd, who has 9 years of experience in the league, and Kenny Vaccaro, who has 4 years of experience. The two combined for 150 total tackles and four interceptions in 2016.

Williams was the third athlete selected by the Saints. Ahead of Williams was cornerback Marshon Lattimore of Ohio State, who was selected No. 11 overall, and offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk of Wisconsin, who was selected No. 33 overall.

The Corona, California, native played three seasons at the University of Utah, where he started as a true freshman. He missed only two games in his career due to an injury in 2016. At the U., he was known for his ability to hunt down intended passes and had 11 interceptions and 19 passes defended. He ended his career at Utah with 189 total tackles, four tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and one quarterback hurry.

Early draft analysis by CBS Sports had Williams as a top safety in the 2018 draft, but he chose to forego his final season at Utah to enter the 2017 draft. Williams announced his decision to enter the draft on Twitter in January, saying he felt it was the right time after consulting his family.

Willams said Utah “developed me from a boy into a man” and “taught me how to sacrifice to get to where I want to be.”

Williams was one of eight players from Utah to be invited to the NFL Combine where he was a top performer in four of the seven drills he participated in, including vertical jump (43.5 inches), broad jump (129 inches), three-cone drill (6.85 seconds) and the 60-yard shuttle (11.26 seconds).

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