30 Little Known Facts About Leonard Williams You Probably Didn’t Know Before

Leonard Williams, an American football defensive end for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL), has been making steady progress in his NFL career since he was picked as the sixth overall in the 2015 NFL Draft. While some seasons proved to be disappointing, he still has managed to give his best in the recent reasons. Here are some really interesting facts about him that will make you love him more:

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1.  On March 18, 2021, the New York Giants signed Williams to a three-year, $63 million contract that includes $45 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $22.50 million.
2.  He was selected as the sixth overall in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft by the New York Jets, becoming the highest selected USC defensive lineman since Darrell Russell in 1997.
3.  On May 8, 2015, he signed a four-year, $18.6 million contract and made his professional debut on August 11, 2015, in the first preseason game against the Detroit Lions.
4.  Williams was traded to the New York Giants for a 2020 third round pick and a 2021 fifth round pick, on October 28, 2019.
5.  The Giants placed the franchise tag on him on March 16, 2020, following which he signed a one-year tender on April 22, 2020.
6.  Leonard Austin Williams was born on June 20, 1994 to Clenon Williams and Aviva Russek in Bakersfield, California. He has four siblings.
7.  When he was a child, his father was imprisoned for robbery, following which his mother had to raise them mostly as a single parent.
8.  He attended Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he was a two-sport athlete in football and track.
9.  As a senior, he had 103 tackles and 10.5 sacks, helping Mainland to reach the FHSAA 6A state semi-finals, where they lost to Miami Central 7–17.
10.  He was ranked as the fifth best strongside defensive end recruit in his class, with Rivals.com considering him to be a four-star recruit.


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11.  He played college football at the USC Trojans Football of the University of Southern California, where he began his collegiate career as a defensive tackle, but moved to defensive end prior to his sophomore season.
12.  As a true freshman in the year 2012, he started nine of 13 games at defensive tackle, recording 64 tackles, eight sacks and an interception.
13.  In his sophomore season, after recording 74 tackles and six sacks, Williams was a named a first-team All-Pac-12 selection and was an All-American by ESPN.
14.  He recorded 80 tackles and seven sacks as a junior in the year 2014, and was named Team MVP, first team All-Pac-12 and was an All-American by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and ESPN.
15.  Following his highly successful junior season, he decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 2015 NFL Draft, as he was projected to be a first round pick.
16.  He was projected to be a top-4 selection in May 2014, by various mock drafts, and improved to be regularly the 2nd pick in the months leading up to the 2015 NFL Draft.
17.  However, in the final weeks, experts predicted him to be 3rd to 5th pick, as the end pick was projected to be Marcus Mariota.
18.  During the Preseason Game 3 against the New York Giants, he had to leave the game with an apparent knee injury. However, X-Rays and MRIs were negative, revealing no ligament damage.
19.  Opening the 2016 season against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 11, 2016, Williams had 2.5 sacks for his first career multi-sack game.
20.  He had a total of 7 sacks on the season, and as recognition for his great play, he was selected as a first-team alternate for the 2017 Pro Bowl.


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21.  The 2017 season was a discouraging one for Williams, as he recorded only a career-low 47 tackles and just two sacks, despite starting all the 16 games.
22.  On April 11, 2018, the Jets picked up the fifth-year option on Williams' contract. It was in this season, that he was disqualified for the first time in his NFL career.
23.  During the Week 16 game against the Green Bay Packers, he reportedly threw a punch on Bryan Bulaga, which was one of the 16 penalties in the game.
24.  Williams was fined a total sum of $43,449, on December 29, 2018, which also included a hit on Aaron Rodgers.
25.  In week 15 against the Miami Dolphins with the New York Giants in the 2019 season, he forced a fumble on former teammate Ryan Fitzpatrick which was recovered by teammate Sean Chandler during the 36–20 win.
26.  At the start of the training camp for the 2020 season, on August 2, 2020, he was placed on the active/non-football injury list, and was subsequently activated on August 14, 2020.
27.  He recorded his very first sack of the season, in the Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Ben Roethlisberger during the 26–16 loss, with which he surpassed his 2019 total of 0.5 sacks.
28.  He recorded 2.5 sacks on Russell Wilson during the 17–12 win in the Week 13 game against the Seattle Seahawks of the 2020 season, following which he was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week.
29.  During the Week 17 game against the Dallas Cowboys in the 2020 season, Williams recorded a total of 3 sacks on Andy Dalton, and once gain won the NFC Defensive Player of the Week Award.
30.  The Giants placed the franchise tag on Williams for the second consecutive season on March 9, 2021, after which he signed a three-year contract with the team.
31.  Leonard Williams Net Worth: $39 Million