Don Williams

Don Williams

Williams with the Cleveland Browns in 2015.
No. 34     Retired
Running Back
Personal information
Place of birth: Santa Fe, NM
Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Weight: 226 lb (103 kg)
Career information
High school: Santa Fe Indian High School, Santa Fe, NM
College: Washington
NFL Draft: 2014 / Round: 1 / Pick: 15
Debuted in 2014 for the Cleveland Browns
Career history
Cleveland Browns (2014 - 2018) Pittsburgh Steelers (2019) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019) Arizona Cardinals (2020) *Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Retired
Career highlights and awards
CFBHC 1x 1st Team All PAC-12 (2013) 1x CFBHC Offensive Player of the Week (2013) NFLHC 2x AFC Offensive Player of the Week (2016, 2017)
Career NFL statistics
Carries 1,292 Rushing yards 6,126 Rushing TDs 63

Don Williams is a retired American football Running Back who played for the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at the University of Washington. The Browns selected him with the 15th overall pick in the 2014 NFLHC Draft.

College Career

Don Williams attended Washington for 4 years, declaring early for the NFL Draft his junior year after leading the Huskies to a bowl game win in the Sun Bowl

College Statistics

NCAA Collegiate Career statistics
Washington Huskies
Season	Rushing						Receiving
	GP	GS	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD
2013	13	13	362	1,879	5.19	19	12	42	3.5	1
NCAA Career Totals	13	13	362	1,879	5.19	19	12	42	3.5	1

Professional Career

Pre-draft

After declaring early, Williams was projected as a first round pick in the inaugural NFLHC draft. He improved his stock at the combine after an impressive 4.43 forty yard dash with 26 bench reps while weighing in at 226 pounds.

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	40-yd dash	Shuttle	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
5 ft 10 in	226 lb	4.43 s			31.0 in		26 reps

Draft

Williams was selected with the 15th overall pick, the first draft pick by the Cleveland Browns. He was the 3rd RB taken in the draft after Vaughan Abraham and James Bush.

Cleveland Browns

After being the first pick by the Browns, Williams became the focus of the offense. The Browns nearly missed the playoffs his first two seasons in the league with Williams being in the running of the Pro Bowl. In 2016, the Browns were able to make the playoffs from the wild card. Williams continued his productive play while becoming more of an option in the passing game. In 2017, Williams was relied on more but he began to struggle yet still set career marks for yards and touchdowns. Despite a drop-off in efficiency, the Browns stayed loyal to Williams and gave him a large 4 year, $40M extension. However, in his first season under the new contract, Williams' performance continued to worsen as he was given a larger part of the offense. After the 12th week of the season, Williams was benched for rookie 6th round pick Pete Choboian.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Before the 2019 NFLHC Draft, Williams was traded along with OT Mike Ledbetter to Pittsburgh for OT Nick Grant and their 2020 7th-round pick. The Steelers had cap room to spare and gave Williams a chance as a rotational running back behind Nick Engelberger. This opportunity did not last long as Williams averaged less than 3 yards per carry. Williams was cut mid-season despite the Steelers still owing him $5 million per year for the next three season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

After being cut by the Steelers, the Buccaneers picked up Williams the next day. Buccaneers' starting running back James Otero suffered a season-ending injury giving Williams an opportunity. Williams was given a chance but lost the competition during the season to Brian Schlichter.

Arizona Cardinals

During the off-season, Williams signed a one year contract with the Cardinals and battled with Marshawn Matthison, Fred Tindale, and Chester Dorenbos for playing time. Williams saw limited action as a third down running back. Williams retired after the season.

Professional Statistics

Year Team Games Starts Rushing Receiving Player Rating Att Yds Avg TD Fumbles Rec Yds Avg TD 2014 CLE 11 11 176 965 5.48 10 0 0 0 0.0 0 81 2015 CLE 14 14 230 1,263 5.49 15 0 2 25 12.5 0 84 2016 CLE 11 11 206 1,064 5.17 12 0 11 175 15.9 4 88 2017 CLE 16 16 322 1,434 4.45 16 0 2 52 26.0 1 89 2018 CLE 12 12 277 1,182 4.27 8 1 2 37 18.5 1 87 2019 PIT/TB 5 1 75 217 2.89 2 1 0 0 0.0 0 85 2020 ARI 3 0 6 1 0.17 0 0 2 32 16.0 1 81 Career 72 65 1,292 6,126 4.74 63 2 19 321 16.9 7

Contract History Year Team Contract Year Contract Information Notes Years Total Guaranteed Non-Guaranteed 2014 CLE 1st 4 40 5 5 Drafted 2015 CLE 2nd 5 5 2016 CLE 3rd 5 5 2017 CLE 4th 5 5 2018 CLE 1st 4 40 5 5 Extension 2019 PIT/TB 1st 1 0.5 5 0.5 Cut, paid $5M by PIT 2020 ARI 1st 1 0.8 5.9 0.4 Cut, paid $5M by PIT, paid $500K by TB Career 7 61.8 35.9 25.9

Injury History
Year	Team	Injury Information		Notes
		Games Missed	Type
2014	CLE	0	N/A
2015	CLE	0	N/A
2016	CLE	0	N/A
2017	CLE	0	N/A
2018	CLE	0	N/A
2019	PIT/TB	0	N/A
2020	ARI	0	N/A
Career		0