An obѕcure former Kanѕaѕ Cіty Chіefѕ рlayer made rookіe CB Nohl Wіllіamѕ a fan of the team well before he waѕ drafted

It’s rare for an NFL rookie to say he was drafted to his favorite team, but Kansas City Chiefs third-round draft pick Nohl Williams is one of the few who can.

He wasn’t always a fan of the Chiefs, but he’s also not your typical bandwagon fan. He didn’t jump on the hype train once Patrick Mahomes and Super Bowls became the norm for the team. Instead, a player from the prior era of Kansas City football brought Williams to Chiefs Kingdom.

“Early on, it was the San Diego Chargers,” Williams explained. “And then Kansas City, believe it or not. For a while, yeah. Because my favorite player is De’Anthony Thomas, and he was drafted here. And then that’s when I made that switch.”

A former fourth-round draft pick in 2014 out of the University of Oregon, De’Anthony Thomas spent six seasons with Kansas City as a wide receiver and return specialist. He appeared in 61 games over those six seasons, amassing 65 receptions for 509 yards and four touchdowns. His biggest impact came on special teams, where he returned a combined 163 kicks and punts for 4,294 yards and one touchdown. Thomas was also a dynamic college return specialist in Eugene, Oregon.

Thomas is likely the inspiration behind Williams’ experience as a return specialist at UNLV (before transferring to Cal), where he returned 14 kicks for 294 yards and 11 punts for 74 yards. Williams is also expected to play on special teams with the Chiefs, potentially as a punt or kick return specialist.

As it turns out, Thomas wasn’t the only former Kansas City player who attracted Williams to the Chiefs. . .

Andy Reid’s earliest Chiefs teams caught the attention and fandom of Nohl Williams

When asked further about his Chiefs fandom, Williams explained that he shouldn’t be hailed as a superfan, but he followed the team thoroughly. He mentioned a trio of players besides De’Anthony Thomas from the early Andy Reid era in Kansas City. All three were looked upon fondly as a group that helped this franchise emerge from bleakness to competitiveness.

“Like, I was just always tapped in with the Chiefs,” Williams said. “You know, I don’t want to say like diehard, diehard, but like I liked the Chiefs. That was my team. I watched them ever since the Alex Smith days, Dexter McCluster, Jamaal Charles, all of those guys.”

The funny thing about this is that Williams only mentioned players on the offensive side of the ball. It makes some sense, given that he was a two-way player on offense and defense at Pacifica High School in Oxnard, California. As a senior, he recorded 21 receptions for 330 yards and four touchdowns, plus 74 tackles and seven interceptions, including a 100-yard pick-six. On top of all of that, he also returned kicks and punts for the team.