Introduction
Damien Wilson (born May 28, 1993) is an American football linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Minnesota, and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
Early years
Wilson attended Amite County High School in Liberty, Mississippi, where he was a teammate of Gabe Jackson. He accepted a scholarship from Alcorn State University, but transferred to Jones County Junior College after his freshman season.
As a sophomore safety he was named the Region 23 Defensive MVP, after ranking fourth in the nation with 122 tackles (6 for loss), 2 sacks and 2 passes defensed. As a sophomore, he registered 119 tackles (10.5 for loss). At the end of the year, he transferred to the University of Minnesota.
As a junior, he was converted to linebacker, finishing with 12 starts, 78 tackles (second on the team), one sack and 5.5 tackles-for-loss. In his last year he registered 12 starts, 119 tackles (led team), 4 sacks (tied for team lead), 10.5 tackles-for-loss (led the team), one interception, 3 passes defensed, one forced fumble and 2 fumble recoveries.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
245 lb (111 kg) |
33 ⁄4 in (0.86 m) |
9 ⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.77 s | 1.65 s | 2.76 s | 4.20 s | 7.21 s | 37 in (0.94 m) |
9 ft 11 in (3.02 m) |
22 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine | ||||||||||||
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys selected Wilson in the fourth round (127th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. He was the 13th linebacker selected in 2015.
On May 28, 2015, the Dallas Cowboys signed Wilson to a four-year, $2.74 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $466,315.
As Anthony Hitchens did before him, the coaches decided to make Wilson learn all three linebacker positions in training camp. On special teams he tied for the team lead in tackles (9) with Kyle Wilber and Jeff Heath. As a rookie he registered a total of 16 tackles. Against the New Orleans Saints, he saw extensive play and performed well replacing an injured Andrew Gachkar. He played the season mostly on special teams and finished tied for the team lead with 9 tackles on special teams.
In 2016, he suffered a serious offseason injury on his right eye while playing paintball, missing the first two weeksof training camp after being placed on the non-football injury list. In week 6 of the season, he passed Kyle Wilber on the depth chart and went on to start 5 games at strong-side linebacker. He posted 35 tackles (4 for loss).
In 2017, he began the season as the backup at strongside linebacker, before passing Wilber on the depth chart in the seventh game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He tallied 39 tackles (eleventh on the team), 5 quarterback hurries, one sack and 7 special teams tackles (sixth on the team).
Kansas City Chiefs
On March 14, 2019, Wilson signed a two-year, $5.75 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. Wilson won Super Bowl LIV with the Chiefs after they defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-20.
Personal life
On July 4, 2017, Wilson was arrested at Toyota Stadium on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon during an Independence Day celebration. He was then released on a $10,000 bond for each count.