Asked how that level of fun has contributed to his resurgence in Seattle, Williams said, "I think it's 80-90 percent of it. Just having fun out there and not being worried about whether the coaches trust that I am going to do what I have to do. If the guys like EJ (Ernest Jones IV) are going to trust that I am in my spot. I think everyone knows what type of player I am here, and I am here now. They allow me to just play fast, and with that freedom, it allows me to play fast. When you play fast and take out the thinking, that is when you play your best ball."
Williams' numbers through two games are solid enough—he has half a sack, shared with Byron Murphy II in Sunday's win over Pittsburgh, a tackle for loss in Week 1, 11 total tackles and three quarterback hits—but those numbers don't show how often he is beating blocks and hurrying quarterbacks or affecting running lanes, or how often the attention that other teams focus on stopping him creates opportunities for teammates.
"To me, there's no D-tackle in this league that's better than Leo right now," defensive tackle Jarran Reed said. "That's a testament to how hard he works every day and what he does on the field. That's my guy. I truly believe that, just look at his body of work. There's nobody that's more dominant than him."
And the best part for the Seahawks' hopes for a successful season is that Williams is far from being the only standout on Seattle's line. Second-year defensive tackle Byron Murphy II had 1.5 sacks last week, with Reed adding another, and with the edge group of Derick Hall, Boye Mafe, DeMarcus Lawrence and Uchenna Nwosu adding to the mix, the Seahawks' defensive front has been a handful for Seattle's first two opponents, both when it comes to the run game and pass protection.
Even better for the Seahawks, they're getting pressure without blitzing. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Seahawks generated pressure on 40 percent of Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers' drop backs when rushing four or fewer defenders, resulting in 13 pressures and three sacks on those plays. With the front four getting home, the Seahawks blitzed on only four drop backs.
"With the guys we have in our room, a lot of times we're always like, 'Hey, don't call pressures, let us rush. Don't call games, just let us get a one-on-one," Williams said. "But also knowing the type of guys we have, other teams know what type of guys we have as well. So, offenses aren't just going to get in a five-man protection and just let us rush. They're going to chip us. They're going to do seven-man protections, play actions and things like that. It makes our job harder, and it makes us have to work a little bit more together."
But despite that early success, Williams and Seattle's defensive front are looking for even more going forward, starting with this week's game against New Orleans.
"As a group, we still think we can push it to another level," Williams said. "I think we did a good job affecting the quarterback. We stopped the run pretty well. There's still so many things that we think we can clean up as a front seven. We just have so many guys that have the capability and have the want to dominate games and win games regardless of who we're playing. I think we had glimpses and showed that we could do it at times, but I feel like there's still another level."