Duke Williams (wide receiver)

D'haquille "Duke" Williams (born May 13, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Auburn. After going undrafted and spending the 2016 offseason with the Los Angeles Rams, he made his professional debut in 2017 with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Williams became one of the CFL's most dominant receiving threats, leading the league in receiving in 2018, before deciding to come back to the United States for another shot at playing in the NFL. He signed with the Bills in 2019.

Duke Williams
No. 82 – Buffalo Bills
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1993-05-13) May 13, 1993
Los Angeles, California[1]
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school:Reserve (LA) East St. John
College:Auburn
Undrafted:2016
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Reserve/Future
Career highlights and awards
  • CFL All-Star – 2018
  • CFL West All-Star – 2018
Career NFL statistics as of Week 9, 2020
Receptions:12
Receiving yards:166
Receiving touchdowns:1
Player stats at NFL.com
Career CFL statistics
Receptions:134
Receiving yards:2,294
Receiving touchdowns:15
Player stats at CFL.ca

High school career

Williams attended East St. John High School in Reserve, Louisiana, where he played high school football. As a senior, he had 1,495 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns.

College career

Williams attended Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College from 2012 to 2013. In two years, he had 118 receptions for 2,028 yards and 26 touchdowns.[2]

Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com,[3] Williams was listed as the No. 1 junior college prospect in 2014.[4] He originally committed to Louisiana State University but changed to Auburn University.[5][6]

In his first game at Auburn, Williams had nine receptions for 154 yards and a touchdown.[7] He was dismissed from Auburn on October 6, 2015 for a unidentified violation of team rules, later AL.com reported that Williams punched four people at a bar. It was also noted that he would no longer attend Auburn for academics. Williams in 2015 finished with 12 catches for 147 yards and one touchdown.

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand size40-yard dash20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 2 1⁄4 in
(1.89 m)		 229 lb
(104 kg)		 1⁄2 in
(0.01 m)		 1⁄4 in
(0.01 m)		4.72 s4.47 s7.43 s30 in
(0.76 m)		10 ft 1 in
(3.07 m)		14 reps
All values from NFL combine[8]

Los Angeles Rams

On May 10, 2016, Williams signed a 3-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent. On September 3, 2016, he was waived by the Rams as part of final roster cuts.[9]

Edmonton Eskimos

Williams signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL) before the 2017 season. Williams caught four passes for 110 yards and a touchdown against the BC Lions in his professional regular season debut.[10] Williams went on to have a strong first season in the CFL, catching 46 passes for 508 yards with two touchdowns. Williams became a star player in the CFL in 2018, earning a Top Performers of the Month designation for the months of June and July and ultimately finished the season with the most receiving yards in the league with 1,579. On January 5, 2019, Williams was released by the Edmonton Eskimos in order to pursue NFL opportunities.[11][12]

Buffalo Bills

On January 7, 2019, Williams signed with the Buffalo Bills of the NFL.[13] Williams played in all four preseason games for the Bills, catching eight passes for 78 yards with two touchdowns. He was released during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019 and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[14][15] On October 5, 2019, Williams was promoted to the active roster.[16] He caught 4 passes for 29 yards and the game winning touchdown in a 14–7 Bills win over the Tennessee Titans on October 6, 2019.[17] After suffering a shoulder injury against the Miami Dolphins in week 7, Williams was deactivated for the rest of the season until week 17 when the Bills rested numerous starters against the New York Jets, having already clinched a playoff berth. Williams caught six passes for 108 yards during the 13–6 loss.[18]

Williams was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Bills on July 29, 2020.[19] He was activated on August 9, 2020.[20] Williams was waived as part of final roster cuts on September 5, 2020, but was re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[21] He was elevated to the active roster on October 24 for the team's week 7 game against the New York Jets, and reverted to the practice squad after the game.[22] On January 8, 2021, Wlliams was elevated from the practice squad for a wildcard playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts.[23] On January 11, 2021, he reverted to the practice squad.[24] On January 26, 2021, Williams signed a reserves/futures contract with the Bills.[25]

References
  1. Duke Williams grateful for chance with Rams as he tries to repair image
  2. "Auburn football: Dynamic WR D'haquille Williams earning high marks this spring". Ledger-Enquirer.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  3. D'haquille Williams Recruiting Profile
  4. Rivals.com junior college prospects 2014
  5. Marcello, Brandon (October 3, 2014). "D'haquille Williams chose future over dark past when he picked Auburn over LSU". AL.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  6. "Recruiting: No. 1 JuCo prospect D'haquille Williams has signed with Auburn". AL.com. December 18, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  7. Marcello, Brandon (August 31, 2014). "D'haquille Williams shines in record-breaking debut, but Auburn teammates knew it was coming". AL.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  8. http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/dhaquille-williams?id=2555210
  9. "Rams Make 53-Man Roster Decisions". TheRams.com. September 3, 2016. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017.
  10. Campbell, Dave (July 25, 2017). "Edmonton Eskimos receiver Duke Williams showing more facets to his game". 630CHED. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  11. "SHAW CFL TOP PERFORMERS – JUNE". Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  12. "SHAW CFL TOP PERFORMERS – JULY". Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  13. Brown, Chris (January 7, 2019). "Bills sign CFL's leading receiver Duke Williams". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  14. Brown, Chris (August 31, 2019). "Bills cut roster down to 53 players". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  15. Brown, Chris (September 1, 2019). "Bills begin to assemble practice squad, Christian Wade holds 11th exempt spot". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  16. Brown, Chris (October 5, 2019). "Bills elevate WR Duke Williams to active roster". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  17. Filipowski, Nick (October 6, 2019). "Williams scores game-winning TD in NFL debut". News 4 Buffalo. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  18. Gelber, Brad (December 29, 2019). "Duke Williams aims to show he belongs in the playoffs". Bills Wire. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  19. Gaughan, Mark (July 29, 2020). "Duke Williams, Vincent Taylor go on Covid list, Cole Beasley on injured list". BuffaloNews.com. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  20. "Bills activate Duke Williams". BuffaloBills.com. August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  21. "Duke Williams: Circles back to practice squad". CBSSports.com. September 6, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  22. "Bills place four players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list; four players elevated from practice squad". BuffaloBills.com. October 24, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  23. "Bills elevate Duke Williams and Jordan Devey for Saturday's Wild Card playoff game". Buffalo Bills Official Website. January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  24. "Duke Williams: Drops to practice roster". CBS Sports. January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  25. "Bills signed these 13 players to reserve/future contracts". www.buffalobills.com. January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
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