Dragons CB Steve Williams shares his NFL Combine and XFL experience

Cornerback Steve Williams is one of the few players on the Seattle Dragons roster to be drafted by an NFL team prior to being drafted to Seattle’s XFL roster. He’s also one of a handful of players who had a chance to take part in the NFL combine. With the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine kicking off this week, and the Dragons heading into their fourth game of the season, Williams joined the Field Gulls Podcast to talk about his combine experience and what it’s been like to adjust from playing in the NFL, transitioning to the Alliance of American Football and now to the XFL.

After playing in the AAF last season, one change that has worked out well for him is the opportunity to blitz the quarterback. He had 1.5 sacks in the Dragons Week 2 game against the Tampa Bay Vipers.

Williams was one of the top performers among the cornerbacks in the 2013 combine. The 5’9” defensive back tied for first with a 40.5-inch vertical and was in the top five with a 128-inch broad jump. He said leading up to the combine he was working out twice each day with a lot of attention to detail on his technique for his 40-yard dash as well as a focus on his diet leading up to the event.

A big part of the combine is the opportunity for the teams to interview the players and Williams said that most of the questions were pretty generic, but he got the sense that the teams already knew the answers to many of the questions they asked.

”They just wanted to know your background and a little bit about your history and how you grew up and stuff like that,” said Williams. “I’m sure that they kind of know already, but they just want to ask you to see what your answer is.”

Ultimately, Williams was taken by the then San Diego, but now Los Angeles Chargers in the 5th round of the 2013 draft. We talk about his standout performance in the final game of the 2015 season where he intercepted a pass, had a sack, and two forced fumbles against a Denver Broncos team that went on to win the Super Bowl that season.

The following year, he played for both the Chargers and Los Angeles Rams before learning that he had a thyroid condition. It was a time where he questioned whether or not it was he should stop playing football. Ultimately, with a few changes, he now says he feels good and that he’s a better player.

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