With football taken away, he delivered pizzas. KC Chiefs might start him 2 years later

Kansas City Chiefs rookie cornerback Joshua Williams — with professional dreams — found himself in an unsettling situation in 2020:

Without football.

Williams, who was attending Division II Fayetteville (N.C.) State at the time, watched as major conferences continued to play during the start of the COVID pandemic.

Fayetteville State did not. It bypassed both a fall and spring season, meaning Williams missed out on his initial junior season.

He still tried his best to stay ready. That meant working out and keeping up his schoolwork while also picking up two part-time jobs.

One of those gigs was as a pizza delivery guy.

“Shout-out to Domino’s,” Williams said at Chiefs training camp on Sunday.

The other was a security guard at Walmart, though Williams said he didn’t face too many issues with theft.

“Maybe it was just my demeanor,” Williams said with a laugh. “Maybe they were scared.”

Knowing the backstory makes Williams’ rise in football all the more impressive.

The 6-foot-3 Williams, who posted 31 tackles and three interceptions during his 2021 season, parlayed that performance into a Senior Bowl invite and NFL Combine appearance. A year later, the Chiefs’ fourth-round draft pick also finds himself competing for a starting role as the team sifts through its options in its secondary.

“At the end of the day, I think I belong,” Williams said after the Chiefs’ practice on Sunday at Missouri Western, “regardless of where I came from.”

The last two days have given Williams plenty of chances to show what he can do. Because only rookies and quarterbacks participate in the team’s first three practices, Williams has rarely left the field while going through instructional periods and 7-on-7s with roughly 30 of his teammates.

One of his best plays Sunday came early in drills, as he batted down a Patrick Mahomes pass intended for rookie receiver Skyy Moore.

“Skyy is a fast dude. He’s coming off the line. And luckily, I was just blessed enough to get out of my break fast enough to break up a pass,” Williams said. “There’s a lot of great receivers on this team, so anytime I’m guarding any of them in the open field, I’m getting better. I love getting the competition, getting work.”

Williams’ role could be partially dependent on the team’s health. Though L’Jarius Sneed and rookie Trent McDuffie are heavy favorites for starting roles, Rashad Fenton will be sitting out the start of training camp following recent shoulder surgery.

Lonnie Johnson, Jaylen Watson and DeAndre Baker are some of the Chiefs’ other candidates for snaps at defensive back.

“The coaches we have, they always push you along. They’re always telling you how to adjust quicker,” Williams said. “So it’s not really a getting thrown in the fire. They’re telling you what to expect, how to do certain things, how to go about it, how to prepare. So (the transition to NFL) is definitely not super-smooth, but it’s something that’s doable if you prepare yourself.”

Williams certainly has become a master at keeping himself ready — an attribute only reinforced when he had to live without football two years ago.

“I do understand I had a different path to get here,” he said. “And I was blessed enough to make it to where I’m at.”