FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- The Arizona Cardinals and first-round draft pick Dan Williams have agreed on a five-year contract.
The 6-foot-3, 327-pound nose tackle from Tennessee is expected to practice with the Cardinals in training camp on Tuesday. He was the 26th overall selection.
Williams will be groomed to play alongside Darnell Dockett and Calais Campbell on Arizona's defensive front. At first, though, he will be behind two-year starter Bryant Robinson on the depth chart.
Williams played in a 4-3 defense in college but will shift to a 3-4 alignment with Arizona.
He was an all-SEC first-team selection last season, when he had 70 tackles, including 2.5 sacks with nine tackles for loss and nine quarterback pressures.
During the draft, coach Ken Whisenhunt said one thing stood out when looking at Williams.
"This guy has 70 tackles," Whisenhunt said, "so for me that shows an ability to redirect, chase plays to make tackles, a very active guy. When you combine that with his size ... That's really something that's intriguing to us. As I made the comparison to basketball the other day, to me he's like a 7-footer who can play."
Earlier Monday, Whisenhunt said he knew Arizona was close to an agreement with Williams on Sunday night. There were widespread reports of an agreement through the day on Monday but the team didn't make it official until late in the afternoon Arizona time, in the midst of the team's second practice of the day.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
