| No. 85, 82 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1971-01-25)January 25, 1971 (age 54) Dallas, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Franklin D. Roosevelt (Dallas) | ||||||||
| College | Miami (FL) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1993: 2nd round, 46th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Kevin Ray Williams, Jr. (born January 25, 1971) is an American former professionalfootball player who was awide receiver in theNational Football League (NFL) for theDallas Cowboys,Arizona Cardinals,Buffalo Bills andSan Francisco 49ers. He playedcollege football for theMiami Hurricanes, earning first-teamAll-American honors in 1991.
Williams attendedFranklin D. Roosevelt High School (Dallas), where he averaged 17.1 yards every time he touched the ball. As a senior in 1988, he split time betweenrunning back andwide receiver, tallying 100 carries for 995 yards, 10 rushingtouchdowns, 36 receptions for 757 yards, 3 punt returns fortouchdown and 2 kickoff returns fortouchdown.[citation needed]
He finished his high school career with 111 receptions for 1,997 yards (17.9-yard average), 117 carries for 1,339 rushing yards (11.4-yard average), 21 receivingtouchdowns, 14 rushingtouchdowns and 10 returntouchdowns. He averaged 25.6 yards per kickoff returns and 33.2 yards per punt return.[citation needed]
Williams accepted a football scholarship from theUniversity of Miami, where he was the fastest player (4.28 seconds in the 40 yards) in some ofcollege football most talented teams.[1] As aredshirt freshman in 1990, he was the team's kickoff and punt returner. He registered 10 kickoff returns for 231 yards (23.1-yard average), 13 punt returns for 177 yards (13.6-yard average) and 4 receptions for 64 yards.[2]
As a sophomore, he had a breakout season, posting 1,183 all-purpose yards, 36 punt returns for 560 yards (15.6-yard average) and 3touchdowns, 10 kickoff returns for 185 yards (18.5-yard average), 21 receptions for 330 yards and 3touchdowns.He had 3 consecutive games with punt returns fortouchdowns, setting a school record and one shy of theNCAA record. AgainstPenn State University, he totaled 217 return yards (152 yards in punt returns) on seven attempts, including a 91-yard punt return for atouchdown (school record).[2]
He was named theBig Eastspecial teams player of the year and received first-teamAll-American andAll-Big East honors.[3] He was a part of the Hurricane's1991 National Championship team.[4]
As a junior, he struggled with ankle and knee injuries, including the fact that several opponents chose not to kick to him. He recorded 29 punt returns for 302 yards (10.4-yard average), 4 kickoff returns for 82 yards (20.5-yard average), 40 receptions (fourth on the team) for 457 yards, 2 receivingtouchdowns and a 68-yard pass completion for atouchdown. He declared for theNFL draft after the season.[2]
In the1993 NFL draft, theDallas Cowboys traded their first-round draft choice (#29-George Teague) and fourth-round pick (#112-Al Fontenot) to theGreen Bay Packers in exchange for two second-round picks (#46 and #54-Darrin Smith) and a fourth-round draft choice (#94-Derrick Lassic). The Cowboys selected Williams with their first choice in the second round.[5]
As a rookie, he had a 10.5-yard punt return average (third in the NFC) and a 22.2-yard kickoff return average (sixth in the NFC). His best moment came in the infamousLeon Lett Thanksgiving game against theMiami Dolphins, where he scored all of the team's points (except the conversions) on a 4-yard reception and a 64-yardpunt return.[6]
In1994, his 26.7-yard kickoff return average ranked fourth in the NFL and was the third highest single-season average in club history. He ranked sixth in the NFC with an 8.9-yard punt return average. He became the first player in franchise history to score a touchdown on a punt and a kickoff return in the same season. He set a team record for combined kickoff and punt return yardage (1,497), breakingMel Renfro's 1964 mark of 1,435 yards. He also became the all-time team leader in combined touchdowns scored on kickoff and punt returns with 4. He was the first player in team history to score off a kickoff and a punt return in the same season. Also the first player to score careertouchdowns onpunt returns,kickoff, receiving and rushing.[7]
In1995, he received the opportunity as the startingwide receiver opposite toMichael Irvin after the departure ofAlvin Harper, but never became the consistent big play complement that was expected from him. He had 38receptions for 613 yards, 2touchdowns and ranked sixth in the NFC with a 22.6-yard kickoff return average. Against theArizona Cardinals, he set a club record with 307 combined net yards and had the sixth best single-game receiving total in franchise history at the time, with 203 yards, adding twotouchdown receptions of 25 and 48 yards.[8] Against theSan Francisco 49ers, he became the team's record holder for career kickoff return yards and combined kickoff/punt return yards. He set the franchise single-season record for kickoff returns with 49.
In1996, he was limited to only 10 games with a broken foot suffered in a 10-7 loss against theBuffalo Bills. He finished with 27 receptions for 323 yards and onetouchdown. In1997, he decided to leave the team viafree agency, afterAnthony Miller was signed to take over the second receiver role.
Williams speed and return abilities were always valued during his time with the Cowboys, setting the franchise career records for number ofkickoff returns (144), number of combined returns (239) andkickoff return yards (3,4616) in just four seasons.
On July 15,1997, he signed a one-year contract as afree agent with theArizona Cardinals, where he playedspecial teams and was a backupwide receiver.[9] His 59kickoff returns for 1,458 yards set a team single-season record and he also set a team record against theAtlanta Falcons with 207kickoff return yards in a game.[10]
His biggest offensive contribution came in week 15 versus theNew Orleans Saints, where he racked 4 catches for 54 yards. He tied for fourth on the team with 20 receptions for 273 yards and onetouchdown.
On February 13,1998, he signed as afree agent with theBuffalo Bills. He was third on the team with 29 receptions for 392yards and onetouchdown, while also being the team's kickoff and punt returner.
In1999, he tied for fourth on the team with 31 receptions for 381 yards, while also being the team's kickoff and punt returner. He was released on April 14,2000.
On July 18,2000, he was signed by theSan Francisco 49ers to be the punt and kickoff returner.[11] He wasn't re-signed after the season. He finished his career with 178 receptions for 2,314 yards and 7touchdowns, 167 rushing yards and 2touchdowns, 7,309kickoff return yards with 1touchdown and 2,295 yards and 3touchdowns onpunt returns. He gained a total of 12,085 all purpose yards.
Receiving Stats[12]
| Year | Team | GP | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FD | Fum | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | DAL | 16 | 20 | 151 | 7.6 | 33 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | DAL | 15 | 13 | 181 | 13.9 | 29 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | DAL | 16 | 38 | 613 | 16.1 | 48 | 2 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | DAL | 10 | 27 | 323 | 12.0 | 31 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | ARI | 16 | 20 | 273 | 13.7 | 31 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | BUF | 16 | 29 | 392 | 13.5 | 55 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 1 |
| 1999 | BUF | 16 | 31 | 381 | 12.3 | 35 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 121 | 178 | 2,314 | 13.0 | 55 | 7 | 118 | 1 | 1 | |
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | PR | Yds | TD | FC | Lng | KR | Yds | TD | FC | Lng |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | DAL | 16 | 36 | 381 | 2 | 14 | 64 | 31 | 689 | 0 | 0 | 49 |
| 1994 | DAL | 15 | 39 | 349 | 1 | 13 | 83 | 43 | 1,148 | 1 | 0 | 87 |
| 1995 | DAL | 16 | 18 | 166 | 0 | 15 | 30 | 49 | 1,108 | 0 | 0 | 43 |
| 1996 | DAL | 10 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 21 | 471 | 0 | 0 | 39 |
| 1997 | ARI | 16 | 40 | 462 | 0 | 15 | 50 | 59 | 1,458 | 0 | 0 | 63 |
| 1998 | BUF | 16 | 37 | 369 | 0 | 11 | 73 | 47 | 1,059 | 0 | 0 | 46 |
| 1999 | BUF | 16 | 33 | 331 | 0 | 17 | 27 | 42 | 840 | 0 | 0 | 62 |
| 2000 | SF | 16 | 26 | 220 | 0 | 13 | 25 | 30 | 536 | 0 | 0 | 33 |
| Career | 121 | 231 | 2,295 | 3 | 98 | 83 | 322 | 7,309 | 1 | 0 | 87 | |