Introduction
Damien Williams (born April 3, 1992) is an American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2014.
Early years
Williams attended his freshman year and played varsity at El Cajon Valley High School. Over the next three years, he played high school football at Mira Mesa Senior High School.
College career
Williams was originally expected to play college football at Arizona State but did not meet the ACT test score requirement. So he played at Arizona Western College before transferring to the University of Oklahoma in 2012. In November 2013, he was dismissed from Oklahoma after violating team rules. In two seasons with the Sooners, he rushed for 1,499 yards with 18 touchdowns, including a 95-yard touchdown run against Texas in 2012.
Collegiate statistics
| Damien Williams | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Pos | G | Rush | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
| 2012 | Oklahoma | RB | 13 | 176 | 946 | 5.4 | 11 | 34 | 320 | 9.4 | 1 |
| 2013 | Oklahoma | RB | 9 | 114 | 553 | 4.9 | 7 | 9 | 90 | 10.0 | 0 |
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11 ⁄4 in (1.81 m) |
222 lb (101 kg) |
30 ⁄8 in (0.78 m) |
9 ⁄8 in (0.23 m) |
4.45 s | 4.25 s | 7.37 s | 35.5 in (0.90 m) |
10 ft 1 in (3.07 m) |
16 reps | |||
| All values from NFL Combine | ||||||||||||
Miami Dolphins
2014 season: Rookie year
Williams was signed by the Miami Dolphins after going undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Williams made his NFL debut in the 2014 season opener against the New England Patriots. He had one kick return for 19 yards in the 33–20 victory. In the next game, a 29–10 loss to the Buffalo Bills, he had five carries for 19 yards. In Week 16, against the Minnesota Vikings, he had six receptions for 50 yards and his first professional touchdown. Overall, he finished the 2014 season with 36 carries for 122 yards and 21 receptions for 187 yards and a touchdown.
2015 season
During Week 2, in a 23–20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Williams had a receiving touchdown. He finished the 2015 season with 21 receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown.
2016 season
In 2016, Williams played in 15 games, rushing for 115 yards and three touchdowns while recording 23 receptions for 249 yards and three touchdowns. The Dolphins made the playoffs and faced off against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round. In the 30–12 defeat, he had a four-yard receiving touchdown.
2017 season
Set to be a restricted free agent in 2017, the Dolphins tendered Williams at the lowest level. After reportedly wanting a larger contract than the $1.797 million tender for 2017, he officially signed the tender on May 11, 2017.
Williams entered the 2017 season second on the Dolphins running back depth chart behind Jay Ajayi. After Ajayi was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, he was named the starting running back ahead of Kenyan Drake. Williams started four games before suffering a shoulder injury in Week 12. He was diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder and was expected to be out for two to three weeks. He ended up missing the rest of the season as Kenyan Drake emerged as a key contributor for the Dolphins, starting the final six games with two 100 rushing-yard games.
Williams finished the season with 46 carries for 181 rushing yards along with 20 receptions for 155 yards and a receiving touchdown.
Kansas City Chiefs
2018 season
Williams signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on March 22, 2018.
Williams's role increased after the release of former starter, Kareem Hunt. On December 27, 2018, the Chiefs signed Williams to a two-year, $8.1 million contract extension.
Williams finished the 2018 season with 256 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns, 23 receptions, 160 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns. He was called upon in the playoffs as the Chiefs' feature back. In the Divisional Round victory over the Indianapolis Colts, he had 129 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown to go along with five receptions for 25 receiving yards. In the AFC Championship against the New England Patriots, he had 30 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown, five receptions, 66 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns in the 37–31 overtime loss.
2019 season
During Week 9 against the Minnesota Vikings, Williams rushed 12 times for 125 yards and a 91-yard touchdown in the 26–23 win. This was his first game with at least 100 rushing yards of the season. The 91-yard run tied Jamaal Charles for the longest touchdown run in franchise history. In the regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers, Williams rushed 12 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns, including an 84-yard touchdown, and caught four passes for 30 yards during the 31–21 win.
Williams finished the 2019 season with 498 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns to go along with 30 receptions for 213 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Houston Texans, he rushed 12 times for 47 yards and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 21 yards and a touchdown during the 51–31 win. In the AFC Championship Game against the Tennessee Titans, Williams rushed 17 times for 45 yards and a touchdown and caught 5 passes for 44 yards during the 35–24 win.In Super Bowl LIV against the San Francisco 49ers, Williams rushed 17 times for 104 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown, and caught four passes for 29 yards and a touchdown during the 31–20 win. His receiving touchdown gave the Chiefs the lead while his rushing touchdown sealed the win. He is the first player in Super Bowl history with at least 100 rushing yards while recording a rushing and receiving touchdown.
2020 season
On July 29, 2020, the Chiefs announced that Williams would opt-out of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The following day, he announced on Sirius XM NFL radio that the reason he opted-out was because his mother had recently been diagnosed with Stage IV cancer.
NFL statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Returning | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FUM | Lost | ||
| 2014 | MIA | 16 | 0 | 36 | 122 | 3.4 | 19 | 0 | 21 | 187 | 8.9 | 32 | 1 | 5 | 102 | 20.4 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | MIA | 16 | 0 | 16 | 59 | 3.7 | 19 | 0 | 21 | 142 | 6.8 | 23 | 1 | 21 | 457 | 21.8 | 37 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2016 | MIA | 15 | 0 | 35 | 115 | 3.3 | 23 | 3 | 23 | 249 | 10.8 | 58 | 3 | 3 | 32 | 10.7 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2017 | MIA | 11 | 4 | 46 | 181 | 3.9 | 69 | 0 | 20 | 155 | 7.8 | 24 | 1 | 1 | -7 | -7.0 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | KC | 16 | 3 | 50 | 256 | 5.1 | 25 | 4 | 23 | 160 | 7.0 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2019 | KC | 11 | 6 | 111 | 498 | 4.5 | 91T | 5 | 30 | 213 | 7.1 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Career | 85 | 13 | 294 | 1,231 | 4.2 | 91T | 12 | 138 | 1,106 | 8.0 | 58 | 10 | 30 | 584 | 19.5 | 37 | 0 | 5 | 4 | |
Postseason
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Returning | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FUM | Lost | ||
| 2016 | MIA | 1 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4T | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | KC | 2 | 2 | 35 | 159 | 4.5 | 24 | 2 | 10 | 91 | 9.1 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | KC | 3 | 3 | 46 | 196 | 4.3 | 38T | 4 | 11 | 94 | 8.5 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | 6 | 5 | 84 | 369 | 4.4 | 38T | 6 | 22 | 189 | 8.6 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Personal life
Williams has several tattoos, which have ripped skin design.