Desmond King II (born December 14, 1994) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...
for the
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). He earned
All-Pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...
honors in 2018 as both a
defensive back
In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
and a
punt returner
A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...
. He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
, and was drafted by the
Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...
in the fifth round of the
2017 NFL Draft
The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...
. He has also played for the
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...
.
High school career
King attended
East English Village Preparatory Academy East English Village Preparatory Academy (EEVPA) is a magnet high school in Detroit, Michigan. It is a part of Detroit Public Schools.
The school was built on the original site of Finney High School. It opened in 2012.[Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...]
. He played defensive back and
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
for the Bulldogs
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team. During his career, he set a Michigan high school record with 29
interceptions
In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...
. He also set a school record for career rushing yards and had 2,360 as a senior. King was rated by
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
a three-star recruit and committed to the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
to play college football.
College career
King attended Iowa under head coach
Kirk Ferentz
Kirk James Ferentz (born August 1, 1955) is an American football coach. He is the current head football coach at the University of Iowa, a position he has held since the 1999 season. From 1990 to 1992, Ferentz was the head football coach at the ...
. As a true freshman at the University of Iowa in 2013, King appeared in all 13 games and made 12 starts. He was the first true freshman to start at defensive back for Iowa since 2002. He started all 13 games his sophomore year in 2014 and had 64 tackles and three interceptions. King returned as a starter his junior year in 2015. He also became Iowa's
punt and
kick returner
A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...
. After a terrific junior season in which he had 43 tackles, and a Big-Ten high 8 interceptions, King was named a consensus first-team
All-American and won the 2015
Jim Thorpe Award
The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986. It is voted on by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, the award became sponsored by Paycom ...
, which is given to the best defensive back in all of college football. Despite being projected as an early-round pick in the
2016 NFL Draft
The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...
, King announced that he would return to Iowa for his senior season. On November 29, 2016, King was name First-team All-Big Ten for the second season in a row. He was also named a 2016 AP Second-team All-American.
College statistics
Professional career
Los Angeles Chargers
The
Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...
selected King in the fifth round with the 151st overall pick in the
2017 NFL Draft
The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...
. He was the 21st cornerback and the last of four Iowa players drafted in 2017.
On May 11, 2017, the Los Angeles Chargers signed King to a four-year,
$2.67 million
contract
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...
that includes a
signing bonus
A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...
of $279,992.
2017 season
Throughout training camp, King competed for the role as the third cornerback on the depth chart against
Trevor Williams,
Steve Williams,
Craig Mager, and
Trovon Reed. Head coach
Anthony Lynn
Anthony Ray Lynn (born December 21, 1968) is an American football coach and former running back who is the assistant head coach and running backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played in t ...
named King the starting nickelback and the fourth cornerback on the depth chart to start the regular season, behind
Jason Verrett
Jason Verrett (born June 18, 1991) is an American football cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football ...
,
Casey Hayward
Casey Hayward Jr. (born September 9, 1989) is an American football cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Vanderbilt. Hayward was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the second ...
, and Trevor Williams. Special teams coach George Stewart named King the secondary kick returner, along with wide receiver
Isaiah Burse
Isaiah Burse (born December 8, 1991) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Fresno State. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2014.
High school career
From 2007 to 2009, Burse p ...
.
He made his professional regular season debut in the
Los Angeles Chargers' season-opener at the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
and made one pass deflection during their 24–21 loss. Starting cornerback Jason Verrett suffered a torn ACL during the game and was placed on injured reserve for the rest of the season. King was promoted to the third cornerback on the depth chart behind Casey Hayward and Trevor Williams in his absence. The following week, King earned his first career start as the starting nickelback and collected six combined tackles in a 19–17 loss to the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
. In Week 8, King recorded four solo tackles and made his first career sack on
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
during a 21–13 loss at the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
. On November 23, 2017, King recorded five solo tackles, a pass break up, and returned his first career interception off
Dak Prescott
Rayne Dakota Prescott (born July 29, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Mississippi State, where he twice received first-team All- SEC honors, a ...
for a 90-yard touchdown during a 28–6 victory at the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
on
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...
. On December 10, 2017, King made his fourth career start and made a season-high ten combined tackles, a pass deflection, and sacked
Washington Redskins' quarterback
Kirk Cousins
Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted by the team then known as the Washingto ...
during the Chargers' 30–13 victory. King finished his rookie season in with 76 combined tackles (66 solo), five pass deflections, and an interception in 12 games and four starts. He also returned 17 kickoffs for 353 yards. He received an overall grade of 86.5 from Pro Football Focus in 2017, which ranked as the 14th highest grade among all qualifying cornerbacks. His grade was also the third highest among all rookie cornerbacks in 2017.
2018 season
King entered training camp slated as a backup cornerback, but became the slot cornerback after Jason Verrett tore his Achilles tendon on the first day of training camp. Head coach Anthony Lynn named King the first-team nickelback and third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind starters
Casey Hayward
Casey Hayward Jr. (born September 9, 1989) is an American football cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Vanderbilt. Hayward was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the second ...
and
Trevor Williams.
![Desmond King](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Desmond_King.png)
On October 14, 2018, King recorded two solo tackles, three pass deflections, and intercepted two pass attempts by Browns’ quarterback
Baker Mayfield
Baker Reagan Mayfield (born April 14, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with Texas Tech, Mayfield played college football at Oklahoma, where he won the Hei ...
during a 38–14 victory at the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
in Week 6. On November 4, 2018, King made three combined tackles, broke up two pass attempts, and returned an interception for a 42-yard touchdown during a 25–17 win over the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
in Week 9. King intercepted a pass by Seahawks’ quarterback
Russell Wilson
Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...
, which was intended for wide receiver
David Moore David Moore may refer to:
Politics
* David E. Moore (1798-1875), American politician in Virginia
* David Moore (Australian politician) (1824–1898), politician in Sandridge, Victoria, Australia
* David Moore (Manx politician), member of the H ...
, during the fourth quarter. His performance in a Week 9 earned him AFC Defensive Player of the Week. In Week 13, King collected a season-high ten combined tackles (nine solo) and returned a punt for a 73-yard touchdown as the Chargers defeated the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
33–30. He received AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance. He finished the season with 67 combined tackles (47 solo), ten pass deflections, three interceptions, a forced fumble, and one touchdown in 16 games and eight starts. King also had 22 punt returns for 522 yards (23.7 YPR) and 23 kick returns 318 yards and one touchdown (13.8 YPR). King received an overall grade of 90.4 from
Pro Football Focus
Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...
in 2018, which ranked as the second highest grade among all cornerbacks. On January 4, 2019, King was named to the
Associated Press All-Pro Team, earning first-team accolades as a defensive back and second-team as a punt returner.
The
Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...
finished tied atop the
AFC West
The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las ...
with a 12–4 record in 2018 and earned a Wild Card berth. On January 6, 2019, King started his first career playoff game and recorded four combined tackles and one sack during the Chargers’ 23–17 victory at the
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...
in the AFC
Wild Card Round
A wild card (also wildcard or wild-card and also known as an at-large berth or at-large bid) is a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that fails to qualify in the normal way; for example, by having a high ranking or winnin ...
.
2019 season
In Week 4 against the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
, King sacked quarterback
Josh Rosen
Joshua Ballinger Lippincott Rosen (born February 10, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, receiving Freshman All-American and ...
2.5 times in the 30–10 win. In Week 5 against the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
, King returned a punt for a 68-yard touchdown in the 20–13 loss. In the 2019 season, King finished with 51 total tackles, two passes defended, and one forced fumble.
Tennessee Titans
On November 2, 2020, King was traded to the
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...
in exchange for a sixth round pick in the
2021 NFL Draft
The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...
. King made his debut with the Titans in Week 9 against the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
. During the game, King recovered a fumble forced by teammate
Jeffery Simmons
Jeffery Bernard Simmons Jr. (born July 28, 1997) is an American football defensive tackle for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Mississippi State and was drafted by the Titans with the 19th ...
on
David Montgomery and returned it for a 63-yard touchdown during the 24–17 win. In the 2020 season, he finished with 55 total tackles, two passes defended, and one fumble recovery.
Houston Texans
King signed with the
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
on March 30, 2021. He was named a starting cornerback in 2021, recording a career-high 93 tackles, six passes defensed, and three interceptions.
On March 21, 2022, King signed a two-year contract extension with the Texans. In the 2022 season, he appeared in all 17 games, of which he started 13. He finished with 89 total tackles, two interceptions, and eight passes defended.
NFL career statistics
Regular season
References
External links
*
Houston Texans bioIowa Hawkeyes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Desmond
1994 births
Living people
Players of American football from Detroit
American football cornerbacks
Iowa Hawkeyes football players
All-American college football players
Los Angeles Chargers players
Tennessee Titans players
Houston Texans players