-- When Tramon Williams was signed to the Green Bay Packers' practice squad midway through the 2006 season, he was signing a contract with a team already sporting an abundance of veteran knowledge in their secondary.

It took some time before the cornerback's well-documented ascension up the Packers' depth chart saw him play in 16 games in seven of his next eight seasons in Green Bay and become a primary component to their Super Bowl run in 2010.

Now, Williams returns to the Packers' secondary with strength in not just his performance at the age of 34 last season, but leadership.

"When I came in, it was a veteran-filled team," Williams said on Thursday after the Packers' penultimate public OTA practice. "It was a lot easier because I was able to learn from guys who have been there for so long already, so it was a lot easier to pick up things."

Williams joined a secondary in 2006 -- albeit as a member of the practice squad -- with cornerbacks such as the newly-acquired Charles Woodson and lengthily-tenured Al Harris. Both of which presumably played a significant role in Williams' formative years as a young player.

"I kind of went through the process of going through the practice squad to the active roster and I had to learn on the fly. But I wasn't rushed in and I was able to learn from guys."

Williams is the oldest player on the Packers' roster after turning 35 just days before it was announced he had returned for a second stint in Green Bay.

One of the biggest perks behind acquiring Williams was finding the right fit who can mentor the young group of cornerbacks on the roster, including the two newly-drafted players at the position: Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson.

Williams' role is more important now than ever after the Packers hired Mike Pettine to be their new defensive coordinator in January. Instilling a new scheme and being able to help translate it into a teachable fashion on the field and in the classroom to younger players helps Williams, a newfound leader in the locker room, seem invaluable.

“The good thing about [Mike] Pettine’s defense is it’s not overly-hard at all—you don’t have to think that much. Guys are really out there playing fast right away, and if you can get guys to play fast right away and just continue to get more reps, that’s what you want.

"You don’t want guys thinking when they’re out on the field. You want guys to be playing, and I feel that’s what guys are doing right now; they’re just playing right now. To get guys playing like that that early is pretty good, so I think I like where we’re at right now.”

But Williams also has familiarity with the Packers' new defensive coordinator. Williams played under Pettine in 2015 with the Cleveland Browns when Pettine was in his final year as head coach, but now their paths cross again under different circumstances.

On top of being someone who can be relied on for instructive purposes, Williams is still capable of performing at a high level.

Williams played in 13 games in his lone season with the Arizona Cardinals en route to intercepting two passes and deflecting 12 others.

According to Pro Football Focus, Williams surrendered a 58.4 passer rating when targeted in 2017, including a 28.1 rating when targeted at least 20 yards down the field and a 1.0 passer rating when targeted in man coverage.

Tramon Williams on Megatron, circa 2008. pic.twitter.com/JN8pAC4rFI

— Zachary Jacobson (@ZachAJacobson) February 14, 2018

It's a similar script to Williams' success in Green Bay. From when he began starting a handful of games in 2008 through his departure from the team after the 2014 campaign, only two cornerbacks had more interceptions than Williams (27): Asante Samuel (29) and Charles Woodson (31), who spent five of those years as Williams' teammate.

The Packers paid the two-year, $10 million dollar deal this offseason for Williams' veteran presence and for his abilities, not for nostalgia purposes. If he can play even a fraction as well as he did in Arizona or either one of those antecedent years in Green Bay, that's an immediate boost to an otherwise mostly inexperienced unit.

At 35, it's mostly about reacting on instinct and knowing when things are going to happen and how plays are going to unfold, rather than relying on his pure athletic ability like Williams once did as a spry 27-year-old to seal a Wild Card victory over Michael Vick's Philadelphia Eagles.

"Experience, man. Experience," Williams said. "You see different things over time and you just understand what you're going to get. And young guys don't understand that right now. They're making plays and they're making plays because they're talented, but they're not making plays because they know what's going on.

"When you know what's going on, it becomes a lot easier and that's really where I'm at right now."