Pre-draft Coming out of Texas A&M, many NFL draft experts and analysts were split on the projected round Williams would be selected in. Some experts thought Williams could go as high as the third or fourth round, while some projected him to be a seventh round pick or a priority undrafted free agent. The conflict on grades stemmed from the little experience Williams had since he played cornerback in 13 games for one single season as a senior in contrast to his talent and ability. Many analysts felt he would be over drafted based on his athleticism and traits. On April 6, 2016, he participated at Texas A&M's
pro day and opted to only perform positional drills for the team representatives and scouts from the 30 NFL teams.
Defensive backs coaches from the
Indianapolis Colts,
Detroit Lions, and
Oakland Raiders attended to personally scout and meet Williams. Williams was ranked as the 33rd best cornerback prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.
Arizona Cardinals 2016 The
Arizona Cardinals selected Williams in the third round (92nd overall) of the
2016 NFL draft. He was the 14th cornerback selected in the draft. On May 9, 2016, the Cardinals signed Williams to a four-year, $3.08 million contract that included a signing bonus of $672,695. He competed with
Asa Jackson,
Tharold Simon,
Harlan Miller, and
Cariel Brooks throughout training camp for a job as a backup cornerback. After showing promise throughout camp, Williams climbed the depth chart and began to compete against
Justin Bethel and
Mike Jenkins for the vacant starting cornerback job left by the departure of
Jerraud Powers. Head coach
Bruce Arians named Williams the Cardinals' starting cornerback, along with
Patrick Peterson, to begin the regular season. He earned his first career start and made his professional regular season debut in the Cardinals' season-opener against the
New England Patriots and finished the 21–23 loss with two combined tackles. Williams struggled throughout his debut and gave up a touchdown pass after missing a hand signal that switched the defense from zone to man coverage. In Week 2, he alternated plays with
Marcus Cooper who the Cardinals acquired in a trade with the
Kansas City Chiefs on September 2, 2017. By Week 3, Williams had been benched in favor of Cooper. On December 24, 2016, Williams recorded a season-high 11 combined tackles and a pass deflection in a 34–31 win over the
Seattle Seahawks. In the second quarter, Williams was covering Seahawks' receiver
Tyler Lockett as Lockett made a 28-yard reception. During the course of the tackle, Williams landed on Lockett's right leg, causing Lockett to break his
tibia and
fibula. He finished his rookie season with a total of 26 combined tackles (22 solo) and three pass deflections in three starts and 13 games. From Weeks 3–13, Williams did not play a single defensive snap and was inactive for three games during that span. Through the first seven games of the season, Williams played sparingly and only made two tackles during that time.
2018 Williams played in 16 games in 2018, recording 10 tackles and two passes defensed.
2019 Williams was waived/injured during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019, and reverted to
injured reserve the next day.
New York Giants After becoming a free agent in March 2020, Williams had a tryout with the Colts on August 13, 2020, with the
Kansas City Chiefs on August 17, 2020, and with the
Chicago Bears on August 20, 2020. Williams signed with the
New York Giants on August 29, 2020. He was released during final roster cuts on September 5, 2020, but was re-signed the next day. He was placed on injured reserve on September 30, 2020. He was activated on November 7, 2020. He was waived on December 15, 2020.
Houston Texans On December 22, 2020, Williams signed with the practice squad of the
Houston Texans. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021. He was released on March 2, 2021.
Houston Gamblers Williams signed with the
Houston Gamblers of the
United States Football League on May 5, 2022. He retired from football on May 11. == References ==