It began in 2021, when third-round rookie Milton Williams first noticed how Brandon Graham’s hands hit the turf a split-second earlier than everyone else’s, an instinct honed over 13 NFL seasons and backed by pure discipline. So Williams fell in step with Graham. Under dim lights at NovaCare, the two replayed rush reps over and over until each move was engraved in muscle memory. It wasn’t glamorous; it was deliberate, day after day, a raw defender was reshaped into a precise, explosive lineman. Slowly, Williams internalized the subtleties, reading a guard’s stance, staying low off the ball, turning explosive first-step power into pressure — all under the veteran’s watch. And by 2023, the results were impossible to miss.
His 24 tackles, 5 sacks, forced fumble, fumble recovery, and 90.4 PFF pass‑rush grade, 2nd among interior defensive linemen — all flowed directly from those hours of specialized mentoring. His first-step pop, hand-fighting, and ability to attack gaps mirrored the traits Graham insisted were non-negotiable. But it wasn’t just limited to that. Last year, Williams had even notably mentioned that Graham taught him everything, “being a player, being a man and just being a hard worker”. This wasn’t a typical rookie-mentorship program.
Now, at the recent minicamp presser, Milton Williams talked about taking up a leadership role in his new team. And when asked, “When you were in Philly, who taught you about leadership?” Williams doubled down on Brandon Graham once again.
As Williams put it, “BG. Brandon Graham. He was a big leader there. Just like I said, he was one of the oldest guys on the team and you can say he was practising the hardest every day we went out there.” Even in his rookie year, Williams had notably said he wanted to copy Graham and Fletcher Cox to try to emulate their hard work. As Williams further added, “So just watching him give me pointers on, you know, how to take care of my body… what to look at when I’m rushing, getting in shape, and then like I said, just go out there and practise hard. Make sure you busting your tail whenever it’s your time. And so once you get to the game, it’ll be easy for you.”
With Milton Williams drawing inspiration from the legendary Brandon Graham, there are no slow days. This is another thing he learnt watching Graham go all-in with training despite him being a 10+ year veteran. As Williams had put it back then, “when I see him, I’ve got no excuse.” Williams is training hard. And he’s also going to be “in shape and ready for whatever.” As he gears up for the new season, he has already spent three months under Mike Vrabel’s strict regime to understand the new playbook and run drills with the rest of the crew. And for HC Vrabel, he’s bringing in the heat for the whole roster.
Mike Vrabel’s tough roster calls incoming
For Mike Vrabel, Milton Williams is not just a wall of stats. Williams is a complete package that appeals to the team. As Vrabel had mentioned in his inaugural speech, “There’s a high ceiling and great vision about the person, the effort, the skillset, the speed in which he plays, and there’s power. So certainly an aggressiveness and being able to add him to our defensive line is something that was really exciting.” And Williams had followed through with maximum effort throughout the OTAs. He brought a similar energy to the Patriots throughout everything the team threw at him this offseason. As Mike Reiss had observed, Williams was all-in for “Vrabel’s approach of being hardest on the team’s best players.” But while Williams was showing up every day, there were a few names that were missing.
WR Stefon Diggs and CB Carlton Davis were notably missing from the voluntary workouts. While these are ‘voluntary’ workouts, showing up for them shows a team-first mentality that rings well with Mike Vrabel. And following his trademark of pushing the best players to work even harder, those missing the workouts may have their work cut out for them when they show up. As Mike Florio noted, “this specific aspect of Vrabel’s plan for coaching his team demonstrates how he feels about players choosing – and not choosing – to be there. Given that Vrabel likes to be hardest on the team’s best players, it’ll be interesting to see if players like Diggs and Favis have bought themselves an even more memorable experience in late July and August.”
With training camps scheduled to begin on July 23, Vrabel will certainly be pushing the entire team harder than ever. The mission for the Patriots, and especially for Mike Vrabel, is simple. Flip the script of last year’s bitter 4-13 record. There’s the addition of last year’s Super Bowl champ. Players like Christian Elliss are also turning heads with their best performances. Once the season begins, will the Patriots be primed for glory?
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