Daniel Ellis Williams (born June 1, 1987) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

in the first round of the

2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

. He has also played for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

Early life

Williams attended Memphis East High School in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. As a senior, he had 132

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, five sacks, four forced

fumbles A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

and two fumble recoveries. Regarded as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Williams was ranked as the No. 35 defensive tackle in a class highlighted by

DeMarcus Granger DeMarcus Granger (born September 4, 1986) is a former American football defensive tackle. After a heralded high school career, Granger's NFL prospects faded after an injury-plagued career at Oklahoma. He was not selected in the 2010 NFL draft. ...

and Callahan Bright, and that also included

Ndamukong Suh Ndamukong Ngwa Suh ( , born January 6, 1987) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football ...

and Tyson Alualu.

College career

Williams attended the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

from 2005 to 2009. As a senior, he was a second-team All-SEC selection by the league's coaches after recording 62 tackles and two sacks.

Professional career

Pre-draft

After a "tremendous" senior season, Williams was projected a first-round selection by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

''. He was ranked the third best defensive tackle available in the

, behind only

and Gerald McCoy.

Arizona Cardinals

Williams was selected by the

in the first round with the 26th overall pick in the

. He signed a 5-year, $10.335 million contract on August 2, 2010. As a rookie Williams played in 15 games totaling 37 tackles and had two passes defended. In 2011, Williams was the starting Nose Tackle. In his first career start against Carolina, Williams led the defensive line with 4 solo tackles including 1 for a loss. On November 20, 2011, in the 4th quarter against San Francisco, Williams broke his arm and was placed on injured reserve ending his season. Williams finished the season playing in 10 games (starting all 10), totaling 20 tackles, and 2 passes defended. He appeared in 15 games with 11 starts in 2012 with 41 tackles on the season. On September 8, 2013, Williams intercepted a pass from

Sam Bradford Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Bradford attended Putnam City North High School, where he starred ...

and returned it two yards for a touchdown. On September 21, 2013, his father died in a car accident, driving to New Orleans to see his son play. In the 2013 season, Williams finished with one sack, 23 total tackles, one interception, and three passes defended. In the 2014 season, Williams appeared in all 16 games and started nine. He finished with one sack, 32 total tackles, and one pass defended.

Oakland Raiders

On March 11, 2015, Williams signed with the

. In the 2015 season, Williams finished with a half-sack, 48 total tackles, one pass defended, and one fumble recovery in 16 games and 15 starts. In the 2016 season, Williams appeared in 16 games and started 11. He finished with 17 total tackles, one pass defended, and a half-sack. On April 18, 2017, the Raiders released Williams.

NFL statistics

Personal life

Dan spends his offseason in Memphis, where he is a hands-on dad and husband to his eleven year-old daughter, McKayla and his wife Tia. Off the field, Dan is committed to serving others, especially in the areas of education and health and wellness, specifically preventing diabetes in the African American community with hi
Filling the Gaps Foundation
He is also an ambassador for th
American Diabetes Association
and is a member of Team Tackle, work he dedicates to the memory of his late father who died in 2013.

References

External links

Tennessee Volunteers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Dan 1987 births Living people Players of American football from Memphis, Tennessee American football defensive tackles Tennessee Volunteers football players Arizona Cardinals players Oakland Raiders players