![]() Williams in 2019 | |||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Born: | Rialto, California, U.S. | April 3, 1995||||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
Weight: | 224 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school: | Summit (Fontana, California) | ||||||||||||||
College: | BYU (2012–2016) | ||||||||||||||
Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||||
NFL draft: | 2017: 4th round, 134th pick | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||||||||
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Jamaal Malik Williams [1] (born April 3, 1995) is an American professional football running back. He played college football for the BYU Cougars and was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL draft. Williams has also played for the Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints.
Williams attended Summit High School in Fontana, California [2] [3] where he played high school football for the Sky Hawks. [4] A three-star recruit, Williams committed to Brigham Young University (BYU) to play college football over an offer from Boise State. [5] [6] [7]
Williams played at BYU from 2012 to 2016. [8] On August 30, 2012, Williams made his collegiate debut with 15 rushing yards in the win over Washington State. [9] Two weeks later against Utah, Williams had his first collegiate rushing touchdown. [10] On September 28 against Hawaii, he had 155 rushing yards and two touchdowns. [11] Two weeks later against Oregon State, Williams added two more rushing touchdowns. [12] On October 27 against Georgia Tech, he had 107 rushing yards and three touchdowns to go along with three receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown. [13] Two weeks later against Idaho, he had 104 rushing yards and two touchdowns. [14] Overall, Williams finished the 2012 season with 166 carries for 775 yards and 12 touchdowns to go along with 27 receptions for 315 yards and a touchdown. [15]
On August 31, 2013, in the season opener against Virginia, Williams had 144 rushing yards and 25 receiving yards. [16] In the next game against Texas, he had 182 rushing yards in the victory. [17] On October 25 against Boise State, Williams had 107 rushing yards and 24 receiving yards. [18] Three weeks later against the Idaho State Bengals, he had 131 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. [19] On November 30 against Nevada, Williams had 219 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. [20] He finished the season with 217 carries for 1,233 yards and seven touchdowns to go along with 18 receptions and 125 yards. [21]
On September 6, 2014, against Texas, Williams had 89 rushing yards and 12 receiving yards in the victory. [22] Five days later against Houston, he had 139 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. [23] On October 3 against Utah State, Williams had 102 rushing yards. [24] He later suffered a knee injury and was sidelined for the rest of the season. [25] In his shortened season, Williams had 109 carries for 518 yards and four touchdowns to go along with eight receptions for 47 yards. [26]
Williams did not play in 2015 after withdrawing from the school, and redshirted. [27] [28]
Williams started his final collegiate season in 2016 with 163 rushing yards against Arizona. [29] On September 24 against West Virginia, Williams had 169 rushing yards and two touchdowns. [30] On September 30, he rushed for a school-record 286 yards and five touchdowns on 29 carries during a narrow 55–53 victory over Toledo. [31] In the next game against Michigan State, Williams had 163 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. [32] In his final college game, Williams was named the MVP of the 2016 Poinsettia Bowl after rushing for 210 yards and a touchdown against Wyoming. [33] [34] That red-shirt senior season, Williams had 234 carries for 1,375 yards and 12 touchdowns to go along with seven receptions for 80 yards. [35] During his career, Williams rushed for a school-record 3,901 yards on 726 carries with 35 touchdowns. [36]
BYU Cougars | ||||||||||||||
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Season | GP | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||||
Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | |||||||
2012 | 13 | 166 | 775 | 4.7 | 12 | 27 | 315 | 11.7 | 1 | |||||
2013 | 12 | 217 | 1,233 | 5.7 | 7 | 18 | 125 | 6.9 | 0 | |||||
2014 | 8 | 109 | 518 | 4.8 | 4 | 8 | 47 | 5.9 | 0 | |||||
2015 | 0 | ![]() | ||||||||||||
2016 | 10 | 234 | 1,375 | 5.9 | 12 | 7 | 80 | 11.4 | 0 | |||||
Career | 43 | 726 | 3,901 | 5.4 | 35 | 60 | 567 | 9.5 | 1 |
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | Wonderlic |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 0+3⁄8 in (1.84 m) | 212 lb (96 kg) | 31+1⁄4 in (0.79 m) | 10 in (0.25 m) | 4.53 s | 1.61 s | 2.62 s | 4.26 s | 7.12 s | 33.0 in (0.84 m) | 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) | 18 reps | 20 [37] |
All values are from NFL Combine/Pro Day [38] [39] [40] |
Williams was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round with the 134th overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft. He was the 13th running back selected in the draft. [41] Williams signed his rookie contract on June 1, 2017. [42]
In his NFL debut, Williams had two carries for nine yards in the season-opening 17–9 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. [43] During Week 9 against the Detroit Lions, he scored his first NFL touchdown on a one-yard rush in the 30–17 loss. [44] During Week 14 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Wiliams rushed 21 times for 113 yards and a touchdown in the 26–20 overtime victory. [45]
Williams finished his rookie season with 153 carries for 556 yards and four touchdowns to go along with 25 receptions for 262 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games and seven starts. [46]
In the 2018 season, Williams had 121 carries for 464 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 27 receptions for 210 yards in 16 games and eight starts. [47]
During a Week 4 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on September 26, 2019, Williams suffered a concussion [48] during an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit by Eagles defensive end Derek Barnett. [49] Williams lay motionless on the turf for several minutes before medical staff wheeled him off the field on a gurney; he was immediately transported to a local hospital for evaluation, [50] but was released from the hospital the next day. [51] The following week game against the Lions, Williams rushed 14 times for 104 yards and caught four passes for 32 yards and a touchdown in the narrow 23–22 victory. [52] During Week 8 against the Kansas City Chiefs, he had seven carries for 22 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 14 yards and a touchdown in the 31–24 road victory. [53] Williams finished the 2019 season with 107 carries for 460 yards and a touchdown to go along with 39 receptions for 253 yards and five touchdowns in 14 games and two starts. [54]
Williams was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on November 3, 2020, [55] and activated six days later. [56] He finished the 2020 season with 119 carries for 505 yards and four touchdowns to go along with 31 receptions for 236 yards and a touchdown in 14 games and three starts. [57]
On March 19, 2021, Williams signed a two-year contract with the Lions. [58] During the season-opener, he had 110 scrimmage yards in the 41–33 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. [59] On November 25, 2021, Williams carried the ball for the 585th time in his career, breaking the NFL record previously held by Phillip Lindsay for the most carries without ever fumbling. [60] Williams finished the 2021 season with 153 carries for 601 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 26 receptions for 157 yards in 13 games and 11 starts. [61]
During the first four games of the season, Williams recorded two rushing touchdowns in three of the games. [62] [63] [64] In Week 11 against the New York Giants, he had three rushing touchdowns during the 31–18 victory. [65] During Week 17 against the Chicago Bears, Williams had 22 carries for 144 yards and a touchdown in the 41–10 victory. [66] With two rushing touchdowns in the regular season finale against the Green Bay Packers in Week 18, [67] he set the Lions' single-season touchdown record with 17, surpassing the previous record of 16 set by Barry Sanders in 1991. [68] Williams finished the 2022 season with career-highs in rushing yards (1,066), rushing touchdowns (17), and carries (262) while playing in all 17 games (nine starts) for the Lions. He also had 12 receptions for 73 yards. [69]
On March 17, 2023, Williams signed a three-year contract with the New Orleans Saints. [70] He suffered a hamstring injury in Week 2 and was placed on injured reserve on September 23. [71] Williams was activated on October 19. [72] He failed to record a rushing touchdown until the Saints' final offensive play against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 18. [73] While Saints head coach Dennis Allen called for a quarterback kneel to exhaust the final minute of the game, quarterback Jameis Winston instead handed the ball to Williams who scored a one-yard touchdown. [74] Williams finished 2023 season with 106 carries for 306 yards and the aforementioned touchdown to go along with 18 receptions for 62 yards in 13 games and four starts. [75]
In the 2024 season, Williams had 48 carries for 164 yards and a touchdown to go along with nine receptions for 57 yards in 14 games and one start. [76]
On March 4, 2025, the Saints released Williams after two seasons. [77]
Legend | |
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Led the league | |
Bold | Career-high |
Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
2017 | GB | 16 | 7 | 153 | 556 | 3.6 | 25 | 4 | 25 | 262 | 10.5 | 54 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
2018 | GB | 16 | 8 | 121 | 464 | 3.8 | 20 | 3 | 27 | 210 | 7.8 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2019 | GB | 14 | 2 | 107 | 460 | 4.3 | 45 | 1 | 39 | 253 | 6.5 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
2020 | GB | 14 | 3 | 119 | 505 | 4.2 | 25 | 2 | 31 | 236 | 7.6 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | DET | 13 | 11 | 153 | 601 | 3.9 | 20 | 3 | 26 | 157 | 6.0 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2022 | DET | 17 | 9 | 262 | 1,066 | 4.1 | 58 | 17 | 12 | 73 | 6.1 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
2023 | NO | 13 | 4 | 106 | 306 | 2.9 | 17 | 1 | 18 | 62 | 3.4 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2024 | NO | 14 | 1 | 48 | 164 | 3.4 | 13 | 1 | 9 | 57 | 6.3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 117 | 45 | 1,069 | 4,122 | 3.9 | 58 | 32 | 187 | 1,310 | 6.8 | 54 | 8 | 5 | 2 |
Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
2019 | GB | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 2.3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2020 | GB | 2 | 1 | 19 | 88 | 4.6 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 22 | 5.5 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 4 | 1 | 23 | 97 | 4.2 | 12 | 0 | 7 | 32 | 4.6 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Williams has a daughter. He is a self-described "nerd" for anime, video games, and cosplay. Williams particularly prefers One Punch Man , Dragon Ball Z , and Naruto . [82] After a game on January 1, 2023, Williams wore a Naruto headband and shirt while giving interviews to reporters and said that he wanted to go home to play Pokémon Scarlet . [83] During the Sunday Night Football game against the Packers a week later, Williams wore a different Naruto headband and introduced himself as "First Swagg Kazekage, leader of the hidden village of the den", a reference to the anime, drawing immediate reactions on social media. [84]