Michael K. Williams
[https://www.registrar.clemson.edu/pdf/gradDec2016.pdf ] (born October 4, 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 ...
wide receiver for 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 ...
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 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
Clemson, and was drafted by the Chargers seventh overall in the
2017 NFL Draft.
Early years
Williams attended
Lake Marion High School & Technology Center in
Santee, South Carolina
Santee is a town in Orangeburg County along the Santee River Valley in central South Carolina, United States. It has become a resort town of note located centrally north-south along the Atlantic Seaboard of South Carolina. The region has been ru ...
, where he played on the
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. He had 66 receptions for 1,296 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior, and he had 60 receptions for 1,395 yards and 10
touchdowns
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
as a senior. Williams 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 ...
as a four-star recruit. He committed to
Clemson University
Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enr ...
to play
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 ...
.
College career
![Mike Williams Clemson](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Mike_Williams_Clemson.jpg)
Williams played in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2013, making three starts. He finished with 20 receptions for 316 yards and three touchdowns. Williams returned as a starter his sophomore year in 2014. He finished the year with 57 receptions for 1,030 yards and six touchdowns.
In 2015, in the first game of the season against the
Wofford Terriers
Wofford College sponsors 18 sports for men's and women's programs, competing as the Terriers. The Terriers compete in the Southern Conference, and have been a part of the league since the 1997–98 academic year. Wofford and the other SoCon memb ...
, Williams fractured a bone in his neck after colliding with the goal post just as he was catching a touchdown pass from quarterback
Deshaun Watson
Derrick Deshaun Watson (born September 14, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson, where he led the team to a national championship in 2 ...
on his team's first offensive series of the game. He sat out the rest of the season and received
redshirt
Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi
* Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after ...
status.
In 2016 as a redshirt junior, Williams returned to his starting role and started all 15 games for Clemson, recording team highs in receptions (98), yards (1,361), and touchdowns (11). He caught touchdown passes in 9 games (including 3 against rival
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
) and had over 100 yards receiving in 5 games. In the
National Championship Game against
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
, Williams caught eight passes for 94 yards and one touchdown. Williams completed his bachelor's degree in sociology in December 2016.
On January 10, 2017, hours after Clemson defeated
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
35–31 for the national championship, Williams announced that he would forgo his senior year and enter the
2017 NFL Draft.
Statistics
Professional career
Coming out of Clemson, Williams was considered a top prospect and projected as a first round pick by the majority of draft experts and analysts. He attended the NFL Combine, but only performed the bench, vertical, and broad jump. He performed the 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, and 10-yard dash at Clemson's Pro Day and also ran positional drills. Williams was ranked the best wide receiver in the draft by
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
, the second best wide receiver by
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 ...
, the third best wide receiver by ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'', and NFLDraftScout.com ranked him the third best wide receiver in the draft.
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 Williams in the first round with the seventh overall pick in the
2017 NFL Draft. He was the second wide receiver selected (No. 5,
Corey Davis) in the draft.
On May 11, 2017, the Los Angeles Chargers signed Williams to a fully guaranteed four-year, $19.74 million contract with a signing bonus of $12.50 million.
2017 season
Williams participated in rookie minicamp, but missed organized team activities and was expected to miss the start of training camp due to a mild herniated disc in his lower back. On July 30, 2017, it was announced by 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 ...
that Williams was expected to miss the entire training camp due to his back injury.
He was inactive for the first six games of the regular season and made his professional regular season debut in Week 6. He made his first career reception on a 15-yard pass by quarterback
Philip Rivers
Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football at NC State and was se ...
in the fourth quarter of their 17–16 victory at the
Oakland Raiders, before being tackled by safety
Karl Joseph
Karl Myrthell Joseph (born September 8, 1993) is an American football strong safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at West Virginia and was drafted by the Raiders in the first rou ...
. On November 19, 2017, Williams caught a season-high five passes for 38-yard during a 54–24 victory against the
Buffalo Bills in Week 11. Williams was sidelined for the Chargers' Week 13 win against 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 ( ...
after sustaining a knee injury in the first quarter of their 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 ...
the previous week. He finished his rookie season in with 11 receptions for 95 yards in ten games and one start.
2018 season
In Week 2, Williams recorded his first professional touchdown in the 31–20 victory over the
Buffalo Bills. The following week, against the
Los Angeles Rams, he had four receptions for 81 receiving yards and two touchdowns. In Week 15 against the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The ...
, Williams had his best game of the season as he caught 7 passes for 76 yards and two touchdowns, plus rushing for 19 yards for a touchdown. He also caught a late go-ahead two-point conversion with four seconds left in a 29–28 victory despite being down 14–28 with five minutes left. For his performance in Week 15, Williams was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. He finished the 2018 season with 43 receptions for 664 receiving yards and ten receiving touchdowns.
2019 season
In Week 9 against the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
, Williams caught three passes for a season-high 111 yards in the 26–11 win. This was Williams' first game with at least 100 receiving yards of the season.
In Week 13 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 headquar ...
, Williams caught five passes for 117 yards in the 23–20 loss. Overall, in the 2019 season, Williams recorded 49 receptions for 1,001 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.
2020 season
On April 30, 2020, the Chargers exercised the fifth-year option on Williams' contract.
In Week 5 against the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
on ''Monday Night Football'', Williams recorded five catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns during the 30–27 overtime loss.
In Week 16 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 headquar ...
, Williams recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by
Drew Lock
Andrew Stephen Lock (born November 10, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round ...
on a Hail-Mary attempt with no time left in the game to secure a 19–16 win for the Chargers.
2021 season
Williams had a breakout season in 2021, setting career highs in receptions (76), targets (129), and yards (1,146) while scoring nine touchdowns. He showed rapport with ascending Chargers quarterback
Justin Herbert, particularly to start the season, totaling six receiving touchdowns and 471 receiving yards in the Chargers' first five games.
On March 8, 2022, Williams signed a three-year, $60 million contract extension with the Chargers.
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Postseason
References
External links
*
Los Angeles Chargers bioClemson Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Mike
1994 births
Living people
African-American players of American football
People from Orangeburg County, South Carolina
Players of American football from South Carolina
American football wide receivers
Clemson Tigers football players
Los Angeles Chargers players
21st-century African-American sportspeople