Growing up, Kyle Williams loved watching Michael Vick, Kyler Murray and Deshaun Watson carve up defenses both with their arms, and legs.
He dreamt of playing in the NFL. The Patriots rookie wanted to be a quarterback, just like his favorite players.
And that’s the position he played in high school. His talent was obvious both throwing the football, and tucking it away and running, much like his childhood heroes.
But something happened on the way to being the league’s next great dual-threat quarterback.
During his senior year, Anton Clarkson, his coach at St. Monica Catholic High School in Los Angeles, took Williams aside and basically told him his football future was as a receiver. He told him he needed to make the switch sooner, rather than later.
Williams was taken aback.
“For me, it was shocking. This is what I grew up my whole life wanting to be. I watched You Tube videos on this. This is all I know,” Williams said. “I got the ball in my hand every play. Then I got to switch out and have somebody else throw me the ball? I was like, ‘Nah.’
“But we had a couple more talks. At that point, I was just like, ‘You know what, I just want to play at this point,’ so I trusted him. And look at where I am now.”
He’s in New England, poised to make his living catching passes from Drake Maye. The Patriots may have drafted a couple of receivers in the early rounds last year (Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker), but thought enough of Williams’ receiving talent to select him in the third round of this year’s NFL draft.
Patriots fans certainly know a little something about quarterback-turned receivers. Julian Edelman, this year’s entrant into the Patriots Hall of Fame, was a college quarterback at Kent State.
But Bill Belichick saw something in Edelman to believe he was better suited to play receiver in the pros. He was right.
Jakobi Meyers, a former Patriot who was a dependable target for four seasons in New England, transitioned to receiver following his freshman year at NC State.
Clarkson said having Williams make the switch made sense after watching him play, and factoring in his overall skillset.
“He was an extremely interesting kid because, you watch his film, he played quarterback, and he was pretty good with a lot of the stuff he did,” Clarkson said, “but still, as a player, he was electric with the ball. We could see that when he got out on the perimeter, he was moving at a different speed than anyone else.”
Clarkson, a former quarterback, said it became obvious he needed to “throw to that guy” as opposed to having him throw it.
According to Williams, while accurate and strong-armed, he was told by Clarkson he didn’t have the best mechanics throwing the football. That also factored in.
“He was an exciting football player. But longevity-wise, he was like a fish in water with the position switch,” Clarkson said. “Honestly, it was a pretty natural (move).”
Before long, instead of studying NFL quarterbacks, Williams turned to receivers. Stefon Diggs, Stevie Johnson, Doug Baldwin, and naturally, Edelman.
“Those guys were really smooth and fluid in their game,” Williams said. “Those were the guys I watched. Those were the guys I wanted to model my game after.”
Williams, however, still had to get used to not being in charge of the ball every play. He loved having the ball to start every play. He loved being the center of attention.
So there was an adjustment. He essentially had to wait his turn, or wait until the quarterback found him open.
“Once I got the ball in my hands I was always able to make something shake, even when I was at quarterback and I took off,” Williams said. “I was always scoring touchdowns. So catching the ball, and scoring was easy. But not having the ball every play was the hard thing to adjust to.”
Williams, however, ultimately had an advantage having been a former quarterback.
It’s an edge Edelman spoke about in New England, as well as Meyers.
In an interview with ESPN, Edelman said his experience as a college quarterback definitely benefited him in making the switch to receiver in the NFL.
What he gained as a quarterback gave him a unique perspective on how to understand defenses, and the best ways to exploit them.
Clarkson also believes a receiver who’s played quarterback has a better understanding of how to make a quarterback’s life easier.
“Oh yeah, no doubt. Just the way they see the field. It’s a much broader scope,” Clarkson said. “Just making yourself presentable for a quarterback, how you see the defense, all that stuff helps. If you’ve been a quarterback, you’re able to see things from a much bigger prism.”
Williams took it further. He said he understands the importance of route depths, and running to the designated spot, as opposed to being a few feet away. He also talked about that same big picture view, and knowing how he could best help a quarterback.
“You understand why you have to be there. Really, as a receiver, a lot of us want to understand the why, so being a quarterback and making the transition, I understand the why of why everything has to be a certain depth, or you have to be in a certain zone or split because everything opens up something else,” Williams said. “So, once you understand that, you understand, I might not be doing this for myself, I might be doing this for my teammates. Once you get that, get that connection, the opportunities just grow.”
Williams, who is 5-11, 190 pounds, ran a 4.4 40-yard dash at the combine. So he’s pretty fast. His final year at Washington State, he caught 70 passes for 1,198 yards. He had 14 receiving touchdowns.
Beyond the numbers, he showed the ability to separate in any coverage, and create big plays.
Clarkson has no doubt Williams will make it in the pros. He also believes his former star wideout is very much “in step” with the Patriots culture.
“He’s an extremely stubborn kid. He’s stubborn in all the best ways,” Clarkson said. “He’s just a kid that truly, truly loves the game. There’s nothing fake about the kid.”
And, given his ability to throw the football, Williams offers offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels other possibilities for moving the football in terms of trick plays, end arounds, etc.
One of the Patriots most memorable plays during the recent line of championships came with Edelman throwing Danny Amendola a touchdown pass in the division round of the 2014 playoffs.
Williams, who indicated he had seen that play a hundred times since one of his close friends is a Patriots fan, said his college coaches didn’t believe him at first when he told them he could throw the ball. Then they watched him in practice.
“They drew up a couple of plays. I’m 2-for-2 in my career,” Williams said. “One was for a touchdown.”
At this stage, however, Williams isn’t showing off his arm in practices. He’s just trying to prove he belongs as a receiver.
“I’m still knocking off some bumps and bruises with the playbook and everything,” he said. “But once I get adjusted, everything will come a lot smoother. I’m really excited.”
Already, he’s off to a good start. He flashed during rookie camp, making several notable plays the first day.
“We used to joke, he just wanted to make the position switch because he wanted to wear gloves,” Clarkson said with a laugh. “But he’s very much in the mold of how Julian Edelman would be, Hines Ward would be, or Steve Smith would be. Just roll up your sleeves. He’s going to give you everything he’s got. He’s an old-fashioned gladiator.”