"The sky's the limit — I've been watching Miles since he was at Penn State, and then with the Eagles and a little with Carolina," Williams said. "I've always respected his game, and I'm ready to get in here and compete with him, and grind."
As far as why Williams chose the Cowboys in free agency, landing a few days ahead of Sanders, his answer was as clear as the intent behind the decision.
"I just really wanted to be a part of the change," he said. "I know it's a lot of changes that have happened here, and I like the way Coach Schotty is talking. … I wanna help build a winning, championship culture, like I do everywhere I go — just put my nose down and do whatever I gotta do for the team."
In order to help build such a culture, the Cowboys must get back to being a dominant force on the ground and it will be then, and only then, that they can begin to turn the page away from the 7-10 finish of last season.
Williams produced more than 1,800 scrimmage yards and nine touchdowns for Sean Payton over the last two seasons, and Sanders is also well-known for his ability to impact games as a dual-threat back.
"Playing for a coach like Payton, it teaches you to be gritty, strong and tough," said Williams. "Those are things I'm bringing to the Cowboys as well. There will be ups and downs, but you gotta keep going. And I make plays — run the ball, catch the ball, however it may come.
"I try to make plays and score touchdowns."
A former Pro Bowler with nearly 5,600 scrimmage yards and 27 touchdowns in his NFL career, Sanders adds to a mix that immediately injects both talent and mentorship into an overall young group of backs that includes Deuce Vaughn, Hunter Luepke and Malik Davis.
Mixing with changes not only at running backs coach, but also the addition of Klayton Adams as offensive coordinator — former offensive line coach of the Arizona Cardinals who'll work hand in hand with newly-added Cowboys' offensive line coach Conor Riley — something Sanders says he's not been a part of before.
And that excites him.
"Well, for one, you don't get too many places where your offensive coordinator is also an offensive line coach," he said of Adams. "It's a first for me, and it's exciting for me. I've heard of Klayton Adams and I know his resume is pretty good. I'm just ready to run the football. … I'm used to running the ball and having that type of mentality in establishing the line of scrimmage in teams that I've been on."
It's something Schottenheimer has harped on since taking the reins as head coach and offensive playcaller, building his offensive coaching staff to be in total alignment in that thought.
The sooner Williams and Sanders can, for lack of a better way to put it, hit the ground running in Dallas, the better off the team will be going forward.
"I know what it takes to win," the Pro Bowler said. "We'll take it one day at a time, one week at a time, one game at a time and worry about the little things."
After all, it's the little things that can either sink a season, or turn a team into a champion.
Few teams know this to be true more than the Cowboys.