Leonard Williams (American football)

Leonard Williams

Williams with the New York Giants in 2022
No. 99 – Seattle Seahawks
Position:	Defensive end
Personal information
Born:	(1994-06-20) June 20, 1994 (age 29) Bakersfield, California, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:	302 lb (137 kg)
Career information
High school:	Mainland (Daytona Beach, Florida)
College:	USC (2012–2014)
NFL draft:	2015  / Round: 1 / Pick: 6
Career history
New York Jets (2015–2019) New York Giants (2019–2023) Seattle Seahawks (2023–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
Pro Bowl (2016) PFWA All-Rookie Team (2015) 2× First-team All-American (2013, 2014) 2× First-team All-Pac-12 (2013, 2014) Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year (2012)
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Tackles: 511 Sacks: 43.5 Forced fumbles: 6 Fumble recoveries: 4 Pass deflections: 11 Interceptions: 1
Player stats at PFR

Leonard Austin Williams (born June 20, 1994) is an American football defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the New York Jets with the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft. He played college football at USC.

Early years

Leonard Austin Williams ^[1] attended Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he was a two-sport athlete in football and track. As a senior, he had 103 tackles and 10.5 sacks, helping Mainland to reach the FHSAA 6A state semi-finals, where they lost to Miami Central 7–17. However, the loss was overturned in August 2012 as Miami Central forfeited its entire season due to a transfer infraction. ^[2]

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Williams was ranked as the fifth best strongside defensive end recruit in his class.

College career

Williams playing for USC in 2012

As a true freshman in 2012, Williams started nine of 13 games at defensive tackle, recording 64 tackles, eight sacks and an interception. He was named the Pac-12 Conference Defensive Freshman of the Year. ^{[3] [4]} As a sophomore in 2013, Williams was moved from tackle to defensive end. ^[5] After recording 74 tackles and six sacks, Williams was a named a first-team All-Pac-12 Conference selection and was an All-American by ESPN. ^{[6] [7]} As a junior in 2014, he recorded 80 tackles and seven sacks. He was named Team MVP, first-team All-Pac-12 and was an All-American by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and ESPN. ^{[8] [9]}

After his junior season, Williams announced that he would forgo his senior year and enter the 2015 NFL draft. ^{[10] [11]}

Professional career

Pre-draft

In May 2014, Williams was projected a top-4 selection in the 2015 NFL Draft by various mock drafts. ^{[12] [13] [14]} By October 2014, Williams was projected as a top-3 selection. ^[15] In the months leading up to the draft Williams was regularly the 2nd pick in mock drafts, ^{[16] [17]} but in the final weeks most experts predicted that Marcus Mariota would instead be the 2nd pick, with Williams subsequently falling to 3-5th place. ^[18]

Pre-draft measurables

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
6 ft 4+5⁄8 in (1.95 m)	302 lb (137 kg)	34+5⁄8 in (0.88 m)	10+5⁄8 in (0.27 m)	4.97 s	1.73 s	2.88 s	4.53 s	7.59 s	29.5 in (0.75 m)	8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)
All values from NFL Combine [19] [20]

New York Jets

Williams was selected by the New York Jets sixth overall in the first round of the 2015 draft. ^[21] He was the highest selected USC defensive lineman since Darrell Russell in 1997. Williams signed a four-year, $18.6 million contract on May 8, 2015. ^[22] Williams made his professional debut on August 11, 2015, in the first preseason game against the Detroit Lions without recording a stat. In his second preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons on August 21, 2015, Williams made 4 tackles, including a sack on T. J. Yates in the endzone for a safety. ^[23] During his third preseason game against the interleague-rival New York Giants on August 29, 2015, Williams left the game with an apparent knee injury. X-Rays and MRIs were both negative, revealing no ligament damage. ^[24] On September 7, 2015, he had his jersey number switched to #92 from #62. ^[25] On his regular season debut against the Cleveland Browns on September 13, 2015, Williams made a total of 5 tackles. ^[26] On the December 6, 2015, Williams recorded his first sack in a Giants-Jets rivalry game. In 16 games of his rookie year in 2015, Williams made 63 tackles with 3 sacks.

Williams playing for the Jets in 2017.

Opening the season against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 11, 2016, Williams had 2.5 sacks for his first career multi-sack game. The Jets combined for 6 sacks, but still lost 23-22. He had a total of 7 sacks on the season, and as recognition for his great play, he was selected as a first-team alternate for the 2017 Pro Bowl.

In 2017, Williams started all 16 games, recording a career-low 47 tackles and two sacks.

On April 11, 2018, the Jets picked up the fifth-year option on Williams' contract. ^[27] During Week 16 against the Green Bay Packers, he was disqualified for the first time in his NFL career after throwing a punch on Bryan Bulaga. This was one of 16 penalties as the Jets lost the game 44-38 in overtime. ^[28] On December 29, Williams was fined $43,449, which also included a hit on Aaron Rodgers. ^[29]

New York Giants

Williams (#99) in a game against the Washington Redskins in 2019

On October 28, 2019, Williams was traded to the New York Giants for a 2020 third round pick and a 2021 fifth round pick. ^[30] In week 15 against the Miami Dolphins, Williams forced a fumble on former teammate Ryan Fitzpatrick which was recovered by teammate Sean Chandler during the 36–20 win. ^[31]

On March 16, 2020, the Giants placed the franchise tag on Williams. ^[32] He signed the one-year tender on April 22, 2020. ^[33] He was placed on the active/non-football injury list at the start of training camp on August 2, 2020. ^[34] He was activated on August 14, 2020. ^[35] In Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football , Williams recorded his first sack of the season on Ben Roethlisberger during the 26–16 loss. Williams' sack was his first full sack as a member of the Giants and surpassed his 2019 total of 0.5 sacks. ^[36] In Week 13 against the Seattle Seahawks, Williams recorded 2.5 sacks on Russell Wilson during the 17–12 win. ^[37] Williams was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in Week 13. ^[38] In Week 17 against the Dallas Cowboys, Williams recorded three sacks on Andy Dalton during the 23–19 win. ^[39] Williams won the NFC Defensive Player Of The Week Award again for his performance. This brought Williams' total to 11.5 sacks on the season. ^[40]

The Giants placed the franchise tag on Williams for the second consecutive season on March 9, 2021. ^[41] On March 18, 2021, the Giants signed him to a three-year, $63 million contract that includes $45 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $22.50 million. ^{[42] [43] [44]}

On September 6, 2022, the Giants restructured Williams' contract to create more cap space. ^[45] He sprained his MCL in Week 2 against the Carolina Panthers. ^[46]

Seattle Seahawks

On October 30, 2023, Williams was traded to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft (No. 47; later used on Tyler Nubin) and a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft. ^{[47] [48]} Due to the mid-season trade he would miss out on having a bye week during the season and he played in 18 regular season games during the 2023 season which was the first time a player would play 18 games in a season since the 1930 NFL season. ^[49]

On March 12, 2024, Williams signed a three-year, $64.5 million contract extension with the Seahawks. ^[50]

NFL career statistics

Legend
Bold	Career High

Regular season

Year	Team	Games		Tackles				Interceptions				Fumbles
		GP	GS	Cmb	Solo	Ast	Sck	Int	Yds	TD	PD	FF	FR	Yds	TD
2015	NYJ	16	15	63	29	34	3.0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2016	NYJ	16	16	68	36	32	7.0	–	–	–	–	2	0	0	0
2017	NYJ	16	16	47	22	25	2.0	1	6	0	1	–	–	–	–
2018	NYJ	16	16	42	27	15	5.0	0	0	0	2	–	–	–	–
2019	NYJ	7	7	20	8	12	0.0	0	0	0	1	–	–	–	–
	NYG	8	5	26	13	13	0.5	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0
2020	NYG	16	12	57	29	28	11.5	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0
2021	NYG	17	17	81	34	47	6.5	0	0	0	2	2	1	0	0
2022	NYG	12	12	45	26	19	2.5	–	–	–	–	1	2	0	0
2023	NYG	8	7	21	13	8	1.5	0	0	0	1	–	–	–	–
	SEA	10	10	41	24	17	4.0	0	0	0	1	–	–	–	–
Career		142	133	511	261	250	43.5	1	6	0	11	6	4	0	0

Postseason

Year	Team	Games		Tackles				Interceptions				Fumbles
		GP	GS	Cmb	Solo	Ast	Sck	Int	Yds	TD	PD	FF	FR	Yds	TD
2022	NYG	2	2	6	2	4	0.0	0	0	0	1	–	–	–	–
Career		2	2	6	2	4	0.0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0

References

1. "Profile". rostermon.com.
2. Kurtenbach, Dieter (August 15, 2012). "State finds Miami Central used ineligible Broward County quarterback in 2011". Florida Sun Sentinel.
3. Sonnone, Brendan (November 27, 2012). "Ex-Mainland DL Leonard Williams named Pac-12 freshman defensive player of the year" Archived January 1, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
4. "Pac-12 football awards and all-conference team announced". Pac-12. November 26, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
5. Klein, Gary (September 1, 2013). "USC football: Leonard Williams picked up where he left off". Los Angeles Times. ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved April 21, 2018.
6. "Pac-12 football awards and all-conference teams announced". Pac-12. December 2, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
7. "2013 AT&T ESPN All-America Team". ESPN.com. December 14, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
8. Klein, Gary (December 17, 2014). "USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams chosen most valuable player". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
9. Klein, Gary (December 17, 2014). "USC's Leonard Williams named to coaches All-America team". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
10. Markazi, Arash (December 29, 2014). "USC DE Williams says he's entering NFL draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
11. Klein, Gary; Thiry, Lindsey (December 29, 2014). "Leonard Williams leaving USC for 2015 NFL draft". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
12. Brugler, Dane (May 11, 2014). "2015 NFL mock draft: Big Ten, ACC prospects lead the way". CBS Sports.
13. Sobleski, Brent (May 11, 2014). "2015 mock draft: Jameis Winston slips out of Top 5". USA Today.
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15. Burke, Chris (October 21, 2014). "NFL draft Big Board 2.0: Who stands out in class with no clear frontrunner?". Sports Illustrated .
16. Zierlein, Lance (April 8, 2015). "Mock Draft 4.0: Perriman's ascent continues". NFL.com. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
17. Brooks, Bucky (April 23, 2015). "Mock draft 5.0: Mariota lands with Rams". NFL.com. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
18. "Leonard Williams Stats, News and Video - DE". NFL.com .
19. "Leonard Williams Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
20. "2015 NFL Draft Scout Leonard Williams College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
21. Hanzus, Dan (April 30, 2015). "Jets select Leonard Williams with the No. 6 pick". National Football League. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
22. Cimini, Rich (May 8, 2015). "Jets sign No. 1 pick Leonard Williams to $18.6 million contract". ESPN New York. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
23. Howerton, Jamir. "Saturday Spotlight: Leonard Williams Roars". NewYorkJets.com. New York Jets official site. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
24. Alper, Josh (August 30, 2015). "No ligament damage for Leonard Williams". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
25. Lange, Randy. "Numbers Game: Leonard Williams to Wear #92". NewYorkJets.com. New York Jets official site. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
26. New York Jets bio
27. Gantt, Darin (April 11, 2018). "Jets to pick up Leonard Williams' fifth-year option". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com.
28. "Leonard Williams ejected vs. Packers for throwing punch, as his rough season continues". NJ.com. December 23, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
29. "Jets DE Leonard Williams fined $43,449 for hit on Aaron Rodgers, unsportsmanlike conduct". MSN. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
30. "Jets Trade DL Leonard Williams to Giants". ESPN.com. October 28, 2019.
31. "Manning throws 2 TDs, Barkley scores 2, Giants end long skid". www.espn.com. December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
32. Gantt, Darin (March 16, 2020). "Giants plan to franchise tag Leonard Williams". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
33. Eisen, Michael (April 22, 2020). "DT Leonard Williams signs franchise tag". Giants.com. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
34. Eisen, Michael (August 2, 2020). "Giants reach NFL's new 80-man roster limit". Giants.com. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
35. Fennelly, John (August 14, 2020). "Giants remove Leonard Williams from NFI list". USAToday.com. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
36. "Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants - September 14th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
37. "New York Giants at Seattle Seahawks - December 6th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
38. "Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, Bills QB Josh Allen lead Players of the Week". NFL.com. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
39. "Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants - January 3rd, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
40. Gordon, Grant (January 6, 2021). "Titans RB Derrick Henry, Vikings QB Kirk Cousins among Players of the Week". www.nfl.com. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
41. Eisen, Michael (March 9, 2021). "Giants place franchise tag on Leonard Williams". Giants.com. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
42. Patra, Kevin (March 16, 2021). "Giants DL Leonard Williams agrees to three-year, $63M deal". NFL.com.
43. Eisen, Michael (March 18, 2021). "Leonard Williams, 26, still 'has a lot of game left'". Giants.com. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
44. "Spotrac.com: Leonard Williams". spotrac.com. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
45. Alper, Josh (September 6, 2022). "Giants restructure Leonard Williams' contract". nbcsports.com.
46. Dunleavy, Ryan (September 19, 2022). "Giants' Leonard Williams has sprained MCL but hopeful for quick return". nypost.com.
47. Boyle, John (October 30, 2023). "Seahawks Agree To Terms With Giants On Trade For Pro-Bowl DE Leonard Williams". seahawks.com. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
48. Eisen, Michael (October 30, 2023). "Giants trade Leonard Williams to Seahawks for draft picks". Giants.com. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
49. "Seahawks defensive lineman set to become first to play 18 games in a season since 1930". CBSSports.com. January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
50. Boyle, John (March 12, 2024). "Seahawks Sign DE Leonard Williams To Multiyear Deal". Seahawks.com.

External links

• Leonard Williams on Twitter
• Seattle Seahawks bio
• USC Trojans bio