Mario Williams Becomes Largest Outside Linebacker In NFL History

Mario Williams was a surprise No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 NFL draft and quickly established himself as one of the better defensive ends in the NFL. The Houston Texans, who played a 4-3 in Williams' five-year NFL career, are now switching to a 3-4 defense under new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.

That means Williams will be moving to outside linebacker. A lot of 4-3 defensive ends can make the switch to outside linebacker but, instead of lining up with your hand on the ground, you're standing up, so it's a big change for some.

For Williams, it will be a significant change.

That's because, at 6'7" and 290 pounds, he'll turn into the biggest outside linebacker in NFL history, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. 

For a reference, DeMarcus Ware, who played outside linebacker in Phillips' 3-4 with the Dallas Cowboys, is 6'4" and 262 pounds. He's a pretty big backer already so Williams is huge. Levon Kirkland is another former outside linebacker that was pretty big and he was only (only?) 270 pounds. 

So those quarterbacks in the AFC South may want to take note. It was bad enough when Williams came running them down but now that he's standing up with a head start, it could get ugly.