Darryl Williams Jr. (born June 10, 1997) is an American professional

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who is a free agent. 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 ...

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

and was signed by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in . He has also spent time with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

Early life and education

Williams was born on June 10, 1997, in

Bessemer, Alabama Bessemer is a city in Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County, Alabama, United States and a southwestern suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham. The population was 26,019 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is within the Bi ...

. He attended Bessemer City High School there and played

as a lineman. He was a four-star prospect and was ranked as the tenth-best player in the state by

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. He also placed 13th on the

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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 Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

year, Williams was invited to the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic. Williams announced his commitment to

in October 2014, and spent his true

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

year (2015) as a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

. As a redshirt-freshman in 2016, he appeared in the first seven games of the season, mainly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, before suffering a season-ending neck injury. He appeared on a total of 32 snaps that year. Williams became a starter as a

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in 2017, appearing in all 13 games. He was named once the Lineman of the Week in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(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. In the 2018 season, Williams'

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year, he started 12 games as the team's main

left guard In American football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is an offensive line player who lines up between the center and the tackles. Like other offensive line positions, guards are used primarily for blocking. Right ...

. He appeared on a total of 676 snaps and only missed one game, Auburn, due to injury.

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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). Williams was named team captain for his senior year, 2019, and started every game (13) at the

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

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. He was named SEC Lineman of the Week against

Southern Miss The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

. 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 " elite, versatile offensive lineman who was an unquestioned team leader during his career."

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

After going unselected in the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

, Williams was signed by the

as an

. He was waived at the final roster cuts, on September 5, but was re-signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the following day. He was released from the practice squad on January 14, 2021, and was re-signed on January 27, during the playoffs. Williams was signed to a future contract on February 9. He was placed on the reserve/

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list on August 7, and was activated three days later. 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. He was released on October 19, but was later brought back on November 9. On February 2, 2022, he was signed to a future contract. He was released on June 14.

New England Patriots

On June 21, 2022, Williams was signed by the

. He was later released on July 26.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Williams was signed by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

four days after being cut by New England. He was waived at the final roster cuts, on August 30, and afterwards was re-signed to the practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster for their week four game against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, and made his debut in the 29–21 loss, appearing on three special teams snaps. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 23, 2023. On August 29, 2023, Williams was waived by the Jaguars and re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 8, 2024. On August 27, 2024, Williams was waived by the Jaguars.

References

External links

Jacksonville Jagaurs bioMississippi State Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Darryl 1997 births Living people American football centers American football offensive guards Players of American football from Bessemer, Alabama Mississippi State Bulldogs football players Kansas City Chiefs players New England Patriots players Jacksonville Jaguars players