Darryl Williams (center)

Darryl Williams
Personal information
Born: (1997-06-10) June 10, 1997 (age 27)
Bessemer, Alabama, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:304 lb (138 kg)
Career information
High school:Bessemer City (AL)
College:Mississippi State (2015–2019)
Position:Center
Undrafted:2020
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Games played:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Darryl Williams Jr. (born June 10, 1997) is an American professional football center who is a free agent. He played college football at Mississippi State and was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2020. He has also spent time with the New England Patriots.

Early life and education

Williams was born on June 10, 1997, in Bessemer, Alabama. He attended Bessemer City High School there and played football as a lineman. He was a four-star prospect and was ranked as the tenth-best player in the state by ESPN. He also placed 13th on the 247Sports list of top prospects, 14th on the list made by Scout.com, and 21st on the list made by Rivals.com. At the end of his senior year, Williams was invited to the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic.[1]

Williams announced his commitment to Mississippi State in October 2014, and spent his true freshman year (2015) as a redshirt. As a redshirt-freshman in 2016, he appeared in the first seven games of the season, mainly on special teams, before suffering a season-ending neck injury. He appeared on a total of 32 snaps that year.[1]

Williams became a starter as a sophomore in 2017, appearing in all 13 games. He was named once the Lineman of the Week in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and was graded out higher than any other Mississippi State lineman on the season. He helped Mississippi State allow the fewest sacks (13) in the conference and the fifth-lowest total in the nation.[1]

In the 2018 season, Williams' junior year, he started 12 games as the team's main left guard. He appeared on a total of 676 snaps and only missed one game, Auburn, due to injury. Pro Football Focus graded him the fifth-best guard overall in the conference and he was given the fifth-best pass-blocking grade (82.9). Williams only allowed a single sack in the season, and helped the team place second in the conference for yards per rush (5.7) and rushing yards per game (223.6).[1]

Williams was named team captain for his senior year, 2019, and started every game (13) at the center position. He played the second-most snaps on the team and only allowed one sack on 365 pass plays. He helped the school place third in the conference for rushing yards per game, second in average yards per rush, and fifth in rushing touchdowns. He was named SEC Lineman of the Week against Southern Miss.[1]

Williams graduated in December 2019 with a degree in family sciences and human development. He finished his college career with 45 games played, 38 as a starter, in four seasons played in. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed only two sacks in his career and played on a total of 2,246 snaps. His biography at the Mississippi State website stated that he was "[a]n elite, versatile offensive lineman who was an unquestioned team leader during his career."[1]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 2+38 in
(1.89 m)
304 lb
(138 kg)
32+18 in
(0.82 m)
9+34 in
(0.25 m)
5.23 s 1.80 s 3.01 s 4.76 s 7.88 s 25.5 in
(0.65 m)
8 ft 6 in
(2.59 m)
23 reps
All values from NFL Combine[2][3]

Kansas City Chiefs

After going unselected in the 2020 NFL draft, Williams was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent.[4] He was waived at the final roster cuts, on September 5, but was re-signed to the practice squad the following day.[5][6] He was released from the practice squad on January 14, 2021, and was re-signed on January 27, during the playoffs.[7] Williams was signed to a future contract on February 9.[8] He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on August 7,[9] and was activated three days later.[10]

Williams was waived at the final roster cuts again in 2021, on August 31 of that year, and was subsequently signed to the practice squad.[11][12] He was released on October 19,[13] but was later brought back on November 9.[14] On February 2, 2022, he was signed to a future contract.[8] He was released on June 14.[15]

New England Patriots

On June 21, 2022, Williams was signed by the New England Patriots.[16] He was later released on July 26.[17]

Jacksonville Jaguars

Williams was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars four days after being cut by New England.[18] He was waived at the final roster cuts, on August 30, and afterwards was re-signed to the practice squad.[19] He was elevated to the active roster for their week four game against the Philadelphia Eagles,[20] and made his debut in the 29–21 loss, appearing on three special teams snaps.[21] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 23, 2023.[22]

On August 29, 2023, Williams was waived by the Jaguars and re-signed to the practice squad.[23][24] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 8, 2024.[25]

On August 27, 2024, Williams was waived by the Jaguars.[26]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Darryl Williams". hailstate.com. Mississippi State Bulldogs.
  2. ^ "Darryl Williams Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  3. ^ "2020 Draft Scout Darryl Williams, Mississippi State NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  4. ^ Holloway, Seth (April 26, 2020). "Bessemer Native Darryl Williams Signs To Kansas City Chiefs". The Cutoff News.
  5. ^ Jacobs, Nick (September 5, 2020). "Chiefs announce initial roster moves". kshb.com. KSHB-TV.
  6. ^ Fedotin, Jeff (September 6, 2020). "The Kansas City Chiefs Make Good Use Of New Practice Squad Rules". Forbes.
  7. ^ Inabinett, Mark (January 27, 2021). "Bessemer's Darryl Williams rejoins Kansas City Chiefs". AL.com.
  8. ^ a b "Darryl Williams Transactions & Injuries". sportsforecaster.com.
  9. ^ Goldman, Charles (August 7, 2021). "Chiefs place C Darryl Williams on Reserve/COVID-19 list". USA Today.
  10. ^ Teope, Herbie (August 11, 2021). "KC Chiefs defense: Steve Spagnuolo on 1st preseason NFL". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  11. ^ Palmer, Tod (August 31, 2021). "Chiefs trim roster to 53 players, keep 4 tight ends". kshb.com. KSHB-TV.
  12. ^ Palmer, Tod (September 2, 2021). "Chiefs sign 14 players to practice squad ahead of 2021 season". kshb.com. KSHB-TV.
  13. ^ Inabinett, Mark (October 19, 2021). "Former Alabama lineman returns to NFL with Ravens". AL.com.
  14. ^ Goldman, Charles (November 9, 2021). "Chiefs make a pair of practice squad transactions on Tuesday". USA Today.
  15. ^ Goldman, Charles (June 14, 2022). "Chiefs waive C Darryl Williams from 90-man offseason roster". USA Today.
  16. ^ Froyd, Crissy (June 22, 2022). "Former Mississippi State OL Signs With New England Patriots". Sports Illustrated.
  17. ^ Callahan, Andrew (July 26, 2022). "Patriots sideline 2 players, release an offensive lineman before training camp". Boston Herald.
  18. ^ Conner, Matt (July 31, 2022). "Checking on Darryl Williams and other former Chiefs players". arrowheadaddict.com. FanSided.
  19. ^ Dillon, John (September 2, 2022). "Get to know the Jaguars' practice squad prospects". USA Today.
  20. ^ "Roster Moves: Jaguars elevate Williams and Summers to the active roster, downgrade Van Lanen and Chaisson". jaguars.com. Jacksonville Jaguars. October 1, 2022.
  21. ^ "Darryl Williams Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  22. ^ Bouda, Nate (January 23, 2023). "Jaguars Sign 12 Players To Futures Contracts". NFLTradeRumors.co. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  23. ^ Oehser, John (August 29, 2023). "Roster Reduction: Jaguars Move Towards 53 Players". Jaguars.com. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  24. ^ "Roster Moves: Jaguars Announce 13 Additions to Practice Squad". Jaguars.com. August 30, 2023.
  25. ^ "Jaguars sign 11 players to reserve/future contracts". Jaguars Wire. USA Today. January 8, 2024.
  26. ^ "Roster Moves: Jacksonville Jaguars Make The Following Roster Moves Hours Before 2024 Roster Deadline". Jaguars.com. August 27, 2024.