4-3 . . . 2, 1: Quinnen Williams can't wait to play in Robert Saleh's attacking defense

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – Robert Saleh stood with his arms folded and watched intently as the defensive line went through individual drills. A major part of that group and of Saleh’s defense participated for the first time.

Quinnen Williams was activated from the PUP list Monday after rehabbing and recovering from a broken foot that required surgery in the spring. The third-year tackle, who will be eased into practice and the preseason, can’t wait to finally play for Saleh.

"Getting an opportunity to have him here is an amazing upgrade for me in my career," Williams said.

There is mutual respect and admiration between Williams and Saleh, who replaced Adam Gase as Jets head coach.

They got to know each other during the 2019 draft process when Saleh was San Francisco’s defensive coordinator. The 49ers owned the No. 2 pick. They chose Nick Bosa. The Jets took Williams third.

Williams said he’s "been a Robert Saleh fan" since talking to him two years ago about what he can become. It sounds as if Saleh is a big fan of the 6-3, 303-pound Williams, too, and excited about what he can become as a centerpiece of this aggressive, attacking 4-3 defensive scheme.

"The man is just pure mass," Saleh said. "He’s enormous, and to get all that mass moving forward without having to read anything on the fly is just absolute attack up front. It’s hard to stop that mass from moving, especially with how strong he is, how smart he is, how violent he is and how explosive he is.

"So the amount of knock-back that we feel like he’ll be able to generate in this scheme and the amount of disruptions that we feel like he’ll be able to generate, it’s going to be awesome."

Williams led the Jets with seven sacks last season, playing nose tackle in former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ 3-4 scheme. In Williams’ defense, the line read blocks and reacted. Under Saleh, its mission is to attack and try to disrupt the quarterback.

Saleh said Quinnen Williams is "behind" because he has to learn a new defense and technique. He has yet to go through a single practice. Williams could get some team reps later this week when the Jets have joint practices with the Packers, but he won’t play in Saturday’s preseason game in Green Bay.

Williams doesn’t think it will take him too long to get up to speed.

"You got to get a little rust off and polish it up a little bit," Williams said. "I feel good. Everything is going in the right direction."

Williams said he’s in great shape, and he’s worked hard with the strength-and-conditioning staff to make sure his body is right.

He changed his stance so he can get off the ball quicker. Williams said he’s been studying film of the 49ers, as well as tape of Fletcher Cox and Ndamukong Suh, who used the stance he’s now utilizing.

"The scheme itself is amazing," Williams said. "You get the chance to unleash yourself, get after the quarterback, get a chance to be explosive and use all the attributes that each guy in the room got.

"Now I get to explode and get off the ball and stuff like that. It’s very different in the beginning but as I continue to learn and continue to get everything down pat it’s super fun to me."

The Jets already had a strong and deep defensive line. They upgraded it with the signings of potentially dominant edge rusher Carl Lawson and veteran tackle Sheldon Rankins. Add a healthy Williams and it’s going to be hard for teams to key on any one player.

"We’ll be able to feed off each other," Williams said. "When you got a family full of sharks, you’re all going to eat."

That’s Saleh’s vision — and Williams plans to eat plenty.

"I just redid my whole entire stance," Williams said. "For me to go relearn how to get in my stance so I can unleash the explosiveness that I have, so I can perform in the scheme, that goes to tell you that I haven’t scratched the surface of what I can become in this league."