The preseason tape of Garrett Williams is slim.

Since entering the league in 2023, Williams' sole taste of exhibition action was against the Chiefs two weeks ago, playing 11 snaps.

But that doesn't mean he hasn't been active during those games, working to help the fellow cornerbacks that are playing.

"I'm tapped in," Williams said. "I'm trying to help out as much as I can, especially because I'm cool with (the other cornerbacks) from a non-football perspective. You want to make sure that they're playing and you want to help out as much as you can."

With the long-term injuries to Starling Thomas V and Sean Murphy-Bunting, two of last season's starters, the 24-year-old finds himself as the veteran leader in the room. Williams is among those with a guaranteed roster spot, so Saturday's preseason finale was spent assisting the depth pieces fighting to remain.

Darren Hall, who plays a mix of corner and safety, played the most snaps in the secondary against the Raiders with 50. After playing 41 snaps, Jaylon Jones left the game towards the end of the third quarter to be evaluated for a concussion. Elijah Jones, Denzel Burke, and Kei'Trel Clark also saw extensive playing time.

"Obviously, roles will be defined here next week, but it's up to everybody to keep improving," coach Jonathan Gannon said. "You've got to keep getting better as the season goes on because whatever your role is, that can change real fast. Everybody that we end up keeping or on practice squad, we feel good about with some type of role."

Gannon described the evaluation process as a "full body of work" with the preseason finale serving as another tool they take into consideration. He also emphasized that while the attention shifts towards game planning their opponents, "player development, it never goes away."

Cuts have already started to take place as Gannon and general manager Monti Ossenfort begin to mold their initial 53-man roster. Cornerbacks Ekow Boye-Doe and Steven Gilmore were among the 12 players released on Monday.

The depth in the defensive backs room is certainly an area of interest. Elijah Jones, a 2024 third-rounder who spent the entire year on injured reserve, made a handful of pass breakups over the weekend which stood out. Gannon said last week that Clark's camp is "probably the best that he has played."

The initial 53-man roster will be set by Tuesday afternoon. While the business side of the game isn't easy, Williams tries to deliver sage advice to those concerned.

"The biggest thing is just to take everything that we talk about and apply it to wherever you're at and be intentional about what you're trying to be as a person and player," Williams said. "It's kind of all the stuff that we preach in our own room, Just take that anywhere you go."