DeShawn Williams has established himself as a defensive lineman in the NFL, having started 34 of the 46 games he played with the Denver Broncos over the last three seasons while tallying 113 total tackles, nine tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.
Williams was rewarded this offseason when he signed a deal with the Carolina Panthers. The former Clemson and Daniel High School standout will now get to play closer to home, as well as play for new Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, with whom Williams shined when they were in Denver together last season.
Although Williams is in a good spot right now in the NFL, don’t expect him to get complacent as he begins the next chapter of his career in the league. As a player who was cut by several different teams, jumped from practice squad to practice squad around the league and even spent a year in the CFL – not to mention working for Amazon at one point – Williams certainly won’t let himself become content.
Instead, Williams isn’t taking anything for granted and will continue trying to prove himself when he puts on the Panthers uniform this season.
“I think that’s just me,” Williams said recently. “I never had it easy, even since high school – people telling me I wasn’t tall enough, I wasn’t quick enough. But I’m big on proving myself right. Frank (Panthers head coach Frank Reich), he’ll tell you, when I was in Indianapolis with him for a short period of time, didn’t nobody tell me I couldn’t play in this league. So I know what God gave me the ability to play. I’m not the tallest, I’m not the biggest, but what you get out of me is somebody that has leverage, quickness, is going to give effort and do my part.
“So me, I’m big on me. You don’t have to like me, I don’t have to fit your prototype defensive tackle to be 6-3, 6-4, whatever the case may be. I know what I can do, and I’m going to show it in practice and show it on games.”
Originally an undrafted free agent, the 6-foot-1, 292-pound Williams has spent time with the Bengals, Dolphins, Colts and Calgary Stampeders of the CFL, to go along with three stints with the Broncos.
Williams has recorded 115 total tackles, nine tackles for loss and eight sacks in his NFL career.
–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
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