Coming from a small school, Kansas City Chiefs rookie cornerback Joshua Williams has the right to be a little awestruck in his first NFL training camp in St. Joe, Mo.
But the fourth-round pick out of Division II Fayetteville State (N.C.) doesn’t seem intimidated by much. Well, except for maybe the time he met Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“That is a very different thing,” Williams said. “Coming from a small school and meeting Patrick Mahomes. Somebody who has reached the heights of this league, and for him to be as humble as he is.
“There’s a lot of guys who are always helping you, pushing you along and keeping you motivated, and he’s one of those dudes. Great person and he is what he is. A great player.”
Williams isn’t too shabby himself. In fact, he’s earned the praise of his teammates and coaches since he was drafted. Still, Williams is driven to show he can make it in the NFL despite his small-school background.
“There’s definitely some motivation,” Williams said. “But at the end of the day I think I belong regardless of where I came from. There’s a lot of great players in every division. It’s not something that’s always weighing on my brain, but I do understand I had a different path to get here. And I was blessed enough to make it to where I’m at.”
Just being on an NFL roster is enough to make Williams smile, but it surely has extra meaning now considering two years ago he was delivering pizzas for Domino’s and working security at Walmart.
Williams had been preparing for his junior season in 2020, but Fayetteville State’s season was canceled because of covid. So Williams worked two part-time jobs to pass the time. Williams, however, said he didn’t have to stop too many people when he worked security.
“Maybe it was my demeanor,” he said with a laugh. “Maybe they were scared.”
The 6-foot-3, 193-pound Williams had 31 tackles and three interceptions last season for Fayetteville State. He also got an invite to play in the Senior Bowl and later worked out at the NFL Combine. Now he’s been getting reps with the first-team defense.
Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said he especially liked Williams’ motor.
“I think Joshua has done a really good job,” Spagnuolo said. “The one thing Joshua does is that when we ask him to do something technique-wise he goes right out there and tries to do that. There’s a learning curve there. There’s going to be mistakes, but I love the way he competes.”
Chiefs safety Justin Reid also has admired what the rookie has done so far.
“He’s very technical with his footwork,” Reid said. “He’s a long guy. You can’t coach length like that. So he’s able to get his hands on big receivers and make guys run around him. And he plays the system. As long as you play the system, and buy into the program, and don’t go out and do your own thing, good things will happen.”
Williams is also looking forward to showing what he can do when the Chiefs play their first preseason game Aug. 13 at Chicago. He’s just got to get through a few more practices first.
“It’s been great,” Williams said. “The coaches we have, they always push you along. They’re always telling you how to adjust quicker. So it’s not really getting thrown into the fire. They tell you what to expect and how to do certain things, how to go about it and how to prepare and so on. So it’s definitely not super smooth, but it’s something that’s doable if you prepare yourself.”
