Shawn Williams, who has the best chance of any of the Bengals rookies to start for the NFL's sixth-ranked defense when Cincinnati opens the season in Chicago, signed Friday as the team neared a sweep of signing its draft picks before next month's mandatory minicamp.
Of the club's 10 draft picks, only first-rounder Tyler Eifert remains unsigned.
The 6-0, 213-pound Williams, a Georgia safety and a captain on last year's 12-2 team, arrived via the third round, He's trying to show defensive coordinator Mke Zimmer he can cover well enough to team opposite Reggie Nelson at starting safety.
During his 64 games for the Bulldogs, Williams showed the ability to tackle, ringing up 180 of them in his last two seasons while Georgia won 22 games. No doubt special teams coach Darrin Simmons is also eyeing his 23 career special teams tackles.
