Maxx Williams

Maxx Williams (born April 12, 1994) is an American football tight end who is a free agent. He played college football at Minnesota and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

College career

Williams was redshirted in his first year at the University of Minnesota in 2012. As a redshirt freshman in 2013, he started seven of 13 games, recording 25 receptions for 417 yards and five touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2014, he finished the year with 36 receptions for 569 yards and eight touchdowns. Williams was a finalist for the John Mackey Award.

Williams entered the 2015 NFL Draft after his redshirt sophomore season, forgoing his junior and senior seasons.

Professional career

The NFL advisory board recommended Williams return to school, but he chose to forgo his junior and senior season and enter the draft. The upcoming draft class lacked depth at the tight end position with Williams as the only tight end projected to go in the first two rounds. During the lead up to the draft, Williams worked out with Minnesota Vikings' tight end Kyle Rudolph. Williams received an invitation to the NFL combine and completed all of the required combine and positional drills. Williams finished third among tight ends in the 40-yard dash. He had an impressive performance and was able to distinguish himself as the top tight end over Miami's Clive Walford. On March 2, 2015, he opted to participate at Minnesota's pro day, along with David Cobb, Cedric Thompson, and 11 other teammates. He stood on his combine results and chose to only perform positional drills for team representatives and scouts from 20 NFL teams. His pro day performance was described as impressive by multiple scouts and representatives. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Williams was projected to be a second or third round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the top tight end in the draft by NFL analysts Charles Davis, Mike Mayock, Lance Zierlein, NFLDraftScout.com, and ''Sports Illustrated''.

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens selected Williams in the second round (55th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. The Baltimore Ravens traded their second round pick (58th overall) and fifth round pick (158th overall) to the Arizona Cardinals in order to move up three spots to select Williams. They initialized the trade after multiple reports suggested that the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to select Williams with their second round pick (56th overall). Afterwards, Pittsburgh Steelers' General Manager Kevin Colbert denied the claim, stating they were planning to select Senquez Golson either way. The Ravens also chose Delaware tight end Nick Boyle in the fifth round (171st overall).

2015

On May 7, 2015, the Baltimore Ravens signed Williams to a four-year, $4.05 million contract that includes $1.82 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.20 million.

Throughout his first training camp with the Ravens, he competed against Crockett Gilmore, Nick Boyle, Dennis Pitta, and Konrad Reuland for the vacant job as the starting tight end after Owen Daniels departed in free agency. He was named the Ravens' second tight end behind Crockett Gilmore to begin the regular season.

He made his professional regular season debut in the Baltimore Ravens' season-opener at the Denver Broncos and made his first career reception on an 11-yard pass by Joe Flacco during their 19–13 loss. The following week, Williams made his first career start and caught one pass for eight yards in a 37–33 loss at the Oakland Raiders. On November 15, 2015, Williams made four receptions for 40 receiving yards and caught his first career touchdown during a 22–20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. His first career touchdown reception came in the second quarter on a 21-yard pass by Joe Flacco. Williams was inactive in Week 7 and limited in Week 8 after suffering a knee and ankle injury.

On November 30, 2015, Williams suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter of a 33–27 victory at the Cleveland Browns. He was unable to play the following week at the Miami Dolphins (Week 13). On January 3, 2016, he caught a season-high six passes for 53 yards in a 24–16 loss at the Cincinnati Bengals. During the game, Bengals' linebacker Vontaze Burfict</