Chiefs trade up in third round, select CB Nohl Williams
Chiefs add to an already talented cornerback room by selecting a prototypical Chiefs outside corner out of Cal
After trading back in night one of the draft to recoup a fifth-rounder, general manager Brett Veach went back to his aggressive ways to select a cornerback he had high on his board. The Kansas City Chiefs moved up to the 85th pick in the draft to select Cal cornerback Nohl Williams.
Apparently, the value was too great to sit and wait with the Chiefs trading pick 95 and the 2026 fourth-rounder they got back in the Joe Thuney trade earlier this offseason. They traded up for good reason, too. Williams tallied 14 interceptions throughout his career, with ball skills being a trait the Chiefs have sorely lacked over the last several seasons.
After three years of playing at a smaller school, UNLV, Williams transferred to the Golden Bears where his career took off. In his first year at Cal playing in the PAC 12 he racked up career highs in tackles and passes broken up after hauling in two picks and returning two fumbles for a touchdown.
The 2024 season was where he took off, though, earning first-team All-American and All-ACC honors in Cal’s first season in the ACC. In that season, he produced 54 tackles, nine pass breakups, seven interceptions, and one pick-six. He forced three fumbles and recovered four in his two-year career at Cal.
Another added element to his game is he also has experience returning kicks, averaging over 24 yards per return in his collegiate career with one kick return for a touchdown coming this past season. He has four career touchdowns.
Standing at six-foot-one, 200 pounds he is likely to pair with newly acquired Kristian Fulton along the outside with Jaylen Watson rotating in with him and Trent McDuffie sliding inside the majority of the time. Last season Williams lined up 785 times on the outside to just 38 in the slot.
Regardless of how defensive coordinator Steve Spaguolo decides to mix and match, Williams is down to do whatever is best for the team.
“I’m open to playing the slot … I’m willing to get better inside the slot, for sure,” Williams said.
He profiles as a press-man corner who plays with great strength and physicality to go along with his acceptable 4.5 speed. He is a prototypical defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo corner in that he is not afraid to stick his nose into the run game.
Williams appears to be a promising pick at a position where Veach has historically found value in years past with the likes of L’Jarius Sneed and Jaylen Watson. He also made a major return on investment with Charvarius Ward after trading for the undrafted free agent before his rookie season even began back in 2018.
Veach has stated in recent weeks that adding in the trenches, wide receiver and cornerback is good business. So far, the Chiefs have done just that by adding offensive tackle Josh Simmons, coupled with a pair of pass rushers with Omarr Norman-Lott out of Tennessee and Ashton Gillotte out of Louisville through the first three rounds.
