K’Waun Lamar Williams is an American football cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Pittsburgh and attended Saint Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, New Jersey. No. 24 – San Francisco 49ers
Career NFL statistics (Week 9, 2021)
Total tackles 268
Sacks 6.0
Pass deflections 23
Interceptions 4
Forced fumbles 10
Fumble recoveries 3
Professional career
Williams was ranked as the 92nd best cornerback prospect in the 2014 NFL Draft by according to DraftScout.com
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 9+3⁄8 in
(1.76 m) 183 lb
(83 kg) 31+5⁄8 in
(0.80 m) 9+3⁄4 in
(0.25 m) 4.53 s 1.53 s 2.55 s 4.23 s 6.85 s 36 in
(0.91 m) 10 ft 6 in
(3.20 m) 8 reps
All values from Pittsburgh’s Pro Day
Williams went undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft but received offers for a tryout from the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Williams declined the offer to attend the Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie camp in order to reunite with Browns’ defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley who was also his position coach at Pitt and recruited him out of high school.
He made his professional regular-season debut in the Cleveland Browns’ season-opener at the Pittsburgh Steelers and made three combined tackles in their 30–27 loss. Williams was inserted at Nickelback after rookie Justin Gilbert had issues in pass coverage and was replaced on the outside by Nickelback Buster Skrine.
He made his first career tackle on running back Le’Veon Bell after a nine-yard reception in the third quarter. On October 5, 2014, Williams collected a season-high six solo tackles, deflected a pass, and made his first career sack during a 29–28 victory at the Tennessee Titans in Week 5.
Williams sacked backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst for a six-yard loss in the third quarter. The following week, Williams earned his first career start, as a Nickelback, and made a solo tackle and two pass deflections before exiting in the second quarter of the Browns’ 31–10 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6 due to a concussion.
He was inactive for the Browns’ Week 7 loss at the Jacksonville Jaguars due to concussion symptoms. In Week 11, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles and a pass deflection during a 23–7 loss to the Houston Texans. Williams was inactive for two games (Weeks 15–16) due to a hamstring injury.
He completed his rookie season in 2014 with 38 combined tackles (29 solo), eight pass deflections, and a sack in 13 games and four starts.
Williams entered training camp slated as the first-team nickelback after Buster Skrine departed for the New York Jets in free agency. Head coach Mike Pettine named Williams the third cornerback on the depth chart to start the season, behind Joe Haden and Tramon Williams.
In Week 2, he made three solo tackles and sacked quarterback Marcus Mariota during a 28–14 victory against the Tennessee Titans. He was sidelined for two games (Weeks 4–5) after sustaining a concussion.
In Week 10, he collected a season-high five solo tackles in the Browns’ 30–9 loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers. Williams was inactive for the Browns’ Week 15 loss at the Seattle Seahawks due to a shoulder injury.
Williams finished the 2015 season with 39 combined tackles (31 solo), two pass breakups, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and a sack in 13 games and six starts.
Chicago Bears
On August 30, 2016, the Chicago Bears claimed Williams off of waivers. However, the contract was voided after Williams failed a physical due to his ankle injury.
On November 3, 2016, Williams underwent surgery to remove the bone spurs and was expected to recover within 12 weeks.
After being medically cleared following surgery, Williams received contract offers from multiple teams, including the New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, and San Francisco 49ers.
San Francisco 49ers
On February 21, 2017, the San Francisco 49ers signed Williams to a one-year, $615,000 contract with a signing bonus of $75,000.
He reunited with San Francisco 49ers’ defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley who was his position coach with the Cleveland Browns and at Pitt.
Throughout training camp, Williams competed against Will Redmond and Keith Reaser for the role as the first-team Nickelback. Head coach Kyle Shanahan named Williams the first-team Nickelback to start the regular season.
On September 29, 2017, the San Francisco 49ers signed Williams to a three-year, $8.85 million contract extension with $4.25 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $3 million.
On October 1, 2017, Williams collected a season-high eight combined tackles during an 18–15 loss at the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4. Williams was inactive for two games (Weeks 8–9) after injuring his quadriceps.
