For many NFL fans, their last memory of New Orleans Saints safety Marcus Williams is his misjudging of a desperation pass thrown by Minnesota Vikings quarterback Case Keenum to Stefon Diggs, which ended up resulting in one of the most spectacular game-winning touchdowns in NFL history. 

It was unfortunate for Williams that his season ended that way, because he really did have an excellent rookie campaign. After being drafted in the second round out of Utah, Williams started 15 games for New Orleans, recording 71 tackles, seven passes defensed, and four interceptions, while helping the Saints take a massive leap forward defensively. The Saints jumped from 27th in yards allowed in 2016 to 17th in 2017, from 31st in points allowed to ninth, and from dead last in opponent's passer rating to seventh. Williams played a big role in that. His having goofed on a season-ending play doesn't negate the contributions he made to the team, nor how important he is to its future. 

One person who definitely has not forgotten how good Williams was last year, nor how good he can be, is his teammate, quarterback Drew Brees. This weekend, Brees compared Williams to a likely future Hall of Famer: longtime Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed, who is considered by some the greatest safety of all time. 

"I compare him just as you look at guys in history, you know if you ever played against Ed Reed," Brees said, per NFL.com. "You had to do a great job of looking off and try to get him leaning one way, and still you'd throw a ball and be like, 'How did he get there?' Marcus makes some of those plays, where you're like, 'How did he get there? Where did he come from?'"

That is obviously incredibly high praise from Brees, and it should not be taken lightly. Williams has a long way to go to catch up to Reed, obviously, but he's got the ball-hawking instincts to be a force on the back end of an improving New Orleans defense for years to come. If he can overcome his playoff mistake and have a career that comes anywhere close to that of Reed, something tells me Saints fans will be A-OK with that.