Damien Williams

After posting the best numbers of his career in 2019 and seizing the No. 1 job during the playoffs, Williams opted out of last season due to COVID-19 concerns, and he watched from home as Kansas City drafted Clyde Edwards-Helaire at the end of the first round. The team decided it no longer had room for Williams this offseason and released him to save cap space, but it didn't take the Oklahoma product long to land with a new club. In Chicago, he'll provide depth behind David Montgomery in a system similar to the one he left behind in K.C., and Williams' receiving ability and elusiveness should allow him to produce if he somehow ends up with a significant role. With Tarik Cohen still around as a passing-down specialist, Williams' workload could be very limited unless Montgomery gets hurt or regresses to his rookie level of performance.

A knee injury suffered in Week 1 set the tone for a difficult 2019 season for Williams. He missed two games due to the gimpy knee and then three more in the second half with a rib injury, and in between he had only a meager two-week stretch in which he looked like the player who'd won the starting job the year before. As he had the previous season, Williams came up big when it mattered most. In his final five games, including the Chiefs' three-game playoff run, Williams averaged 107.2 yards and scored nine touchdowns, racking up 133 yards and two scores against a formidable 49ers defense in Super Bowl LIV. The Oklahoma product is an excellent receiver who uses surprising balance and footwork to bounce off defenders. He finished last season third in broken-tackle rate and first in after-contact average (3.2), albeit with barely enough carries to qualify (and after breaking only two tackles on 73 regular-season touches in 2018). Perhaps the Chiefs think the newfound elusiveness is a small-sample fluke, considering they drafted Clyde Edwards-Helaire with the 32nd pick in this year's draft. The rookie handled a three-down role at LSU last season, piling up 1,867 yards and 17 touchdowns from 215 carries (6.6 YPC) and 55 receptions (8.2 YPR) in a pass-heavy offense. The nature of his role in Baton Rouge should make for a smooth transition to a similarly aggressive offense in Kansas City, and he'll now be needed given that Williams has decided to opt out of the 2020 season.

Picked up from the Dolphins last offseason, Williams had trouble staying healthy in preseason but still won the No. 3 RB job behind Kareem Hunt and Spencer Ware. There he stayed for 11 games, playing 17 offensive snaps before Hunt's release pushed Williams into a prominent role. Over Kansas City's final five games, including two postseason games, Williams averaged 5.2 YPC, produced 100 scrimmage yards three times and scored eight TDs (five rushing, three receiving) --- a finish good enough to earn him a two-year, $5.1 million contract extension. While he doesn't have any standout traits, Williams fits the Chiefs offense well, as his receiving skills can keep him on the field in all situations and nimble feet help him keep his balance in traffic. The late addition of LeSean McCoy suggests the team might not view Williams as a true starter and will instead look to deploy a timeshare in the backfield (perhaps a prudent decision given his injury history) but even if Williams gets capped at 12-15 touches per game, he demonstrated in 2018 that he can be productive in coach Andy Reid's system with that kind of workload.

A backup in each of his first four campaigns, Williams drew the first four starts of his career during the 2017 campaign. However, he toted the rock just 46 times over 11 games total last season, making the majority of his impact -- 20 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown -- as a pass-catching back for the Dolphins. Charcandrick West filled that role for the Chiefs behind Kareem Hunt during the 2017 season and remains on the roster. Moreover, the eventual return of Spencer Ware from a PCL and LCL injury, along with with the signing of Kerwynn Williams complicates the team's backfield further. Williams, at best, will likely slot into a supplementary role for Kansas City in 2018.

Williams figures to open the season as the primary backup to Jay Ajayi. In three NFL seasons, Williams only has 87 rushing attempts versus 65 receptions, the latter of which signifies where his utility lies. Consequently, if Ajayi were ever to go down, the Dolphins may roll with a running back by committee rather than increase Williams' carry count.

With the signing of Arian Foster, Williams is still no better than third on the RB depth chart and will likely be fighting for a roster spot in training camp. In two seasons with Miami, Williams has only had 52 carries for 181 yards. Those hare hardly statistics that scream future starter. Still, a strong showing in camp could put Williams in line for a larger role this season, as Miami has more quantity than quality at RB at this point in time.

Williams was signed as an undrafted free agent by Miami last May and did little to suggest he will be provide the Dolphins with anything more than depth at running back, something the team may no longer need due to the addition of Jay Ajayi in the fifth round of this year's draft. With Ajayi in tow, the Dolphins sport five running backs on their roster, possibly one more than they will carry into the season. This could mean that whomever performs best on special teams out of LaMichael James, Mike Gillislee and Williams will ultimately have the best chance at making the team. It also means that special teams could be Williams' biggest contribution to the 2015 Miami Dolphins.

Williams was signed as an undrafted free agent in May and will give the Dolphins some depth at running back but he's fighting an uphill battle to make the team.