Making the 90-man offseason roster as a rookie minicamp tryout is tough for every NFL team. It’s especially tough when you’re competing to earn a spot on a Kansas City Chiefs team fresh off three consecutive Super Bowl appearances.
With 60 tryout players and 93 total players at the Chiefs’ rookie minicamp, the competition was as fierce as possible. That didn’t stop Carson Newman’s Major Williams from going all-out during rookie minicamp to prove he belonged as an undrafted player out of Division II. Williams, alongside WR Jimmy Holiday and LB Cooper McDonald, defied the odds and will get a chance to compete during OTAs, mandatory minicamp, training camp, and the preseason to prove themselves further.
Speaking to our friends, Marcus Dash and Jason Dunn over at Chief Concerns, Williams described the exact moment he knew he’d showcased enough to earn a contract in Kansas City.
The exact moment Major Williams went from a rookie tryout to a Kansas City Chief
Williams didn’t take long to make his mark during the three-day rookie minicamp. On the first day, he’d already established himself as the type to take advantage of his opportunities.
“Yeah, I would say day one, for sure,” Williams said. “My reps were limited on day one, because I’m in there with 93 guys, so everybody got to plug in. It was a team rep, and I was at free safety. I just remember making a check myself and making the play off my check; a receiver had a cut and split. He came across the toe the corner, cut, cut. He drew, crossed my face, and I broke the pass up. That right there just gave me confidence that I could do whatever and at any level, and that I was ready and I was prepared.”
It never hurts to make a play in practice, but making a play as a result of something you saw pre-snap and checked to? That’s the type of stuff that catches the coaching staff’s attention.
“But at that moment right there, that was the confidence boosters from day one,” Williams continued. “Showcasing my speed, the special teams drills, just a competitiveness in me. You know, just ready to go out there and show coaches what I had. And, you know, day one, I would say, by the post-practice meeting, day one. Coach was kind of feeling good about me, talked to me. By then, he knew my name by the end of that practice. So that’s something that I wanted to do. You know, 93 guys. It’s hard to learn 93 guys’ names. So even having my name remembered by a coach was special from that day.”
Williams feels this was a true reflection of who he has been as a football player. He has taken the road less traveled, but his work ethic has paid off in a big way. He came into Kansas City determined to prove himself as a tryout, and now he’ll have a chance to play alongside guys competing for Super Bowls every season.
“A word that Jason (Dunn) said was perseverance, and then what you said was resilience,” Williams said. “Those two words describe me and how I play. You know, the work I put in. It showed that day, and it showed at the right time, and it has always done that. And I’ll just say that’s just God’s work. You know, it’s God’s time with God’s plan. I didn’t get drafted, didn’t get signed, (but I had) a tryout. So, you know, I just gave it my all and sacrificed everything. I went out there, and I really wanted to die for it. I gave it my all. I didn’t care. I just wanted to leave it all out on the field, no regret. So I just went out there and did that, and I reap the benefit of it, and I’m just so excited, man, I’m ready to go meet the guys, Patrick, Travis, all those guys you see on TV, man. I’m a part of that team, part of that culture now, ready to go learn from the vets. And it’s exciting, man. And it’s like you say, it’s just my story, my journey. It just speaks volumes of who I am as a person and who I am as a player, and what I can bring to Kansas City?”
He’ll soon learn that making the 90-man offseason roster was the easy part, but the true challenge lies ahead as he competes for a spot on the 53-man roster or even the practice squad. Continuing to show that ability on defense and special teams throughout every juncture of the offseason and preseason will set him up for long-term success in the NFL with the Chiefs or even with another club.
