John Wolford, Darious Williams had hard NFL path, now Rams' teammates from 904 playing for Super Bowl ring

When the Los Angeles Rams made their last trip to the Super Bowl in head coach Sean McVay’s second season (2018), backup quarterback John Wolford appeared headed for a career on Wall Street.

Rookie cornerback Darious Williams got off the bench for only one game that year, enduring what amounted to an NFL redshirt season, either stashed on the practice squad or often being deactivated once he got put on the 53-man roster.

Both Jacksonville area high school products – Wolford from Bishop Kenny and Williams from Creekside High in St. Johns County – went undrafted.

They began their NFL careers as afterthoughts who faced uncertain futures. One received valuable apprentice work in the now-defunct Alliance of American Football (AAF), while the other had his development impeded by missing nearly two years of college football when UAB temporarily shut down its program.

But some good came out of the pair with Jacksonville area ties facing long-shot odds: it empowered Wolford and Williams instead of discouraging them.

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That perseverance has paid off for the Rams’ teammates from the 904 who never met each other until 2019. Heading into the Super Bowl Sunday matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals at Los Angeles’ So-Fi Stadium — with Wolford serving as backup quarterback to Matthew Stafford and Williams as a starting cornerback — each has better job security than when they first arrived in the NFL.

Still, the reality is Wolford and Williams can’t feel as if they’ve arrived, not on a Rams franchise showing it has no reservations about adjusting its roster or getting rid of proven players. They know their NFL future can change on a moment’s notice.

“This league is so burn-and-churn, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately, there’s never a calming sense,” Wolford said in a phone interview with the Times-Union. “I’ve had three [one-year] contracts, so I can’t say I’m not worried about money anymore. I’m an undrafted free agent, played at the league minimum [salary] the last two years. I haven’t played in a while and people can forget about you. Right or wrong, that’s how it works.

“The truth of the matter is if you want to keep playing in the NFL, that edge always has to be there, especially if you’re undrafted. I’ll always have that chip to prove to people that you belong.”

Williams has always adopted a similar mindset, even after he went from relative obscurity into a starting role the past two seasons.

“Definitely a long time coming, obviously been through a lot of stuff," Williams said Friday at his only SB media availability. "But I think that’s what makes the journey so much more special. Even from Jacksonville, my little journey all the way through school, come here, all the way to the first Super Bowl. And just being an undrafted rookie, seeing what it took for our team to get there at that time and then actually being here, being a reason, a corner, a player that’s actually helped us get here is special."

The 5-foot-9 cornerback, overshadowed by the huge presence of All-Pro Jalen Ramsey on the opposite side, takes nothing for granted. Not after going through a whirlwind college career in which he didn’t play for a combined 42 months, the first time due to having no place to go after leaving Division III Marietta (Ohio) College, followed by UAB’s decision to put football on pause for two years.

Few players on the Rams’ roster have taken a more outlier path to the NFL than Wolford and Williams. They will be the first Jacksonville-area teammates to suit up for the same Super Bowl team since former Raines High stars Brian Dawkins and Lito Sheppard played at the end of the 2004 season for the Philadelphia Eagles, which lost 24-21 to the New England Patriots at TIAA Bank Field.

Wolford and Williams never played against one another in high school, never met until their unconventional NFL path landed them 2,416 miles from home.

Now the backup quarterback and starting cornerback have a chance to earn a Super Bowl ring, all because they refused to let go of their football dream.

Wall Street to Hollywood

Coming into this season, Wolford knew full well that the Rams trading away Jared Goff for Stafford meant the team was upping its Super Bowl-or-bust commitment with a significant quarterback upgrade.

But it was a good thing for the 27-year-old backup he had already taken a step up in management’s eyes during the final week of the 2020 regular season. With the Rams facing a must-win situation to get into the playoffs, Wolford made his first career start in place of an injured Goff (he had thumb surgery the previous week) and led the Rams to an 18-7 victory, despite throwing an interception on his first NFL pass.

Wolford, who earned the second-year minimum NFL salary of $780,000 this season, made some history in the process. He became the first NFL quarterback to throw for at least 200 yards and rush for 50 yards in his first career game. He also became the first Wake Forest quarterback to win an NFL game since Norm Snead for the New York Giants in 1976.

It not only raised his NFL stock, but prompted Wolford to change his LinkedIn profile from private equity manager to “Quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams.” That playoff-clinching win also gave the Rams more confidence and solidified his future as their No 2 quarterback.

“Our staff and players were confident in him, especially our defensive guys, because he gives them such a good look in practice,” said Rams’ general manager Les Snead. “Any time a quarterback proves he can win a big game, he earns the trust of the players. A backup going in and winning a game to get you in the playoffs? That’s all you can ask for.

“John is just a brilliant kid who loves to study football. Him and [Stafford] are good partners and co-pilots. Matt likes studying all the details he needs to win and John loves adding insight to the process.”

Wolford also got the start in the Rams’ NFC wild-card win over the Seattle Seahawks, only to suffer a neck injury on the team’s second series and was replaced by Goff in a 30-20 victory.

He’s seen only limited action in three games this season – including five handoff snaps in a 37-7 win over the Jaguars in Week 13 – but Wolford has come a long way from the quarterback who thought he would never play again following his release by the New York Jets after one 2018 preseason game.

Upon earning a finance degree from Wake Forest, he completed an investment banking internship with Verger Capital Management LLC. A Wall Street company was holding a position for him once the Jets cut him, but Wolford got another shot when he won a starting job with the Arizona Hotshots for the 2019 spring season, only to see the AAF fold two weeks before the season ended.

The Rams quickly signed him and he spent 2019 on their practice squad, then signed a reserve/future contract that December. Wolford eventually won the backup job in 2020 training camp over former Jaguars QB Blake Bortles.

Now as the Rams approach a second Super Bowl under McVay at their own venue, Wolford knows he must be at the top of his game. It’s imperative for him to provide the Rams’ first-team defense a good challenge for what it’ll see against Bengals’ quarterback Joe Burrow.

“I want to win going against our first group of Jalen [Ramsey], Aaron [Donald] and Von [Miller],” said Wolford. “If they get a better look because of something I did, I enjoy that. It makes it better for us. The nice thing about that, too, is I’m not getting hit by Aaron Donald and Von Miller.”

One play away

Though Wolford played only 24 total snaps this season, he still has to keep himself mentally sharp as possible in case a nightmare scenario unfolds and Stafford gets hurt.

“I try and play the game in my head on the sideline,” said Wolford. “I’m hearing the play-call [on the headset] and trying to take advantage of the defense from my vantage standpoint [on the sideline]. If my number is called, then I’m already in the game mentally because it’s hard to go into a game cold and play those high-speed reps.

“You have to be ready at a moment’s notice and prepare like you’re the starter.”

The Super Bowl has provided rare instances where the backup quarterback — either through injury or a starter’s ineffectiveness — was asked to come in the game with the outcome still in doubt.

No backup QB has been put in that situation since the Buffalo Bills’ Frank Reich replaced Jim Kelly, who re-injured his knee, in the second quarter of a 52-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XVII (1992).

There were three previous instances where a backup QB was forced to come in with the outcome in doubt and lead a comeback victory. The only one who came through was Earl Morrall relieving Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas in Super Bowl V, rallying the Baltimore Colts to a 16-13 win over the Cowboys. It was a reversal from two years earlier when Unitas replaced an ineffective Morrall, losing 16-7 to the Joe Namath-led New York Jets.

If Wolford is put in that difficult situation, he at least has the experience of delivering under pressure last year when the Rams’ postseason hopes were at stake.

For now, he’s enjoying the unlikely ride of getting to a Super Bowl, just two years after his football career was looking like it might hit a dead end. Adding to Wolford’s happiness is he has formed a tight bond with Stafford.

“Matthew, I can’t say enough what a great human being he is,” said Wolford. “We get along great. He’s been in the league longer than Goff, so I learned a lot from him.”

When the Rams rallied to beat the 49ers in the NFC Championship game, Wolford engaged in the traditional postgame hugs. He later had a rather subdued celebration with some California aunts and uncles at a house he shares with two teammates, center Brian Allen and defensive tackle Michael Hoecht.

“I’m not a big partier, to be honest,” said Wolford. “Now after the Super Bowl, that might not be the case.”

His only focus now is to be ready if he’s summoned into the game. The odds are Wolford might never take a snap in the Super Bowl, but he can’t have that mindset.

Wolford’s background in finance makes him well-versed in all kinds of numbers, and there’s none bigger at the moment than one. That’s how many plays away he is from being in the spotlight on the NFL’s biggest stage.

Waiting his turn

For his entire football life — starting at Creekside High, through stops at two colleges and with two NFL teams – Williams has never really been a highly sought commodity.

He was an undersized, lightning-quick athlete, initially more intriguing as a basketball player at Creekside, but recruiters weren’t clamoring for his football services. The 28-year-old cornerback had to go to a D-III school in Ohio (no scholarship) just to find a college willing to take him.

Even after he found a new home at UAB and the program went on a two-year hiatus, Williams came home and took some classes, tended to some family issues, and even worked for a couple months as a floral deliveryman at Ace Hardware.

He was willing to wait on UAB, which promoted him from a walk-on to a scholarship player, instead of transferring elsewhere. The idea of making it to the NFL, much less being in a Super Bowl, wasn’t even on his radar.

As his father, Dexter, a retired U.S. Navy officer, told the Times-Union in October 2020: “It’s a Cinderella story. Up until midway through his senior year at UAB, I never once heard Darious mention anything about going to the NFL. He just wanted a scholarship to go to school.”

When the Rams signed him midway through the 2018 season, after his release from the Baltimore Ravens, he was sixth on the cornerback depth chart. A year later, the Rams traded for Jalen Ramsey and dealt Marcus Peters to Baltimore, by which time Williams was able to carve out a role as a part-time starter.

Then came his breakthrough 2020 season, which saw Williams intercept four passes in an eight-game stretch, then added the biggest highlight of his career in the NFC wild-card win over Seattle. The Rams’ cornerback picked off a Russell Wilson pass intended for D.K. Metcalf, returning it 42 yards for a game-changing touchdown in the second quarter.

But upon Williams’ arrival in Los Angeles, he was nothing more than a bottom-of-the-roster guy waiting for an opportunity. He wasn’t even good enough to be a special-teams regular, though his 4.44 speed in the 40, a 39-inch vertical jump, and 6.84 seconds time in the 3-cone drill would have put Williams in the top-10 among cornerbacks at the NFL combine.

“We almost drafted Darious because we liked his upside coming out, but he wasn’t showing the tenacity to cover kicks or be a gunner like Troy Hill [now with Cleveland Browns],” said Rams’ general manager Les Snead. “When we knew we were going to get Jalen [Ramsey], that gave Darious a chance to play.

“When you’re a high-functioning team and claim somebody in the middle of the year, it’s a bonus. You’re doing it for the future unless you have injuries. We kept a lot of kids on our roster like Darious who never dressed, but if we cut him or put them on practice squad, your analytics gives you a pretty good idea whether they’ll get claimed or not.”

So Williams eventually stayed on the 53-man roster, but only got activated for one game in 2018. That’s why he didn’t play in the Rams’ 13-3 Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots. Despite then being one of the oldest rookies in the NFL at 25 years, 10 months, Williams had to wait his turn until the acquisition of Ramsey allowed him to get on the field more often to prove his value.

“Jalen, that’s a dog on the other side,” Williams said in 2020. “I know teams are scared of him. That’s probably a lot of reasons why I get targets at me, PBUs, whatever it is. All credit to Jalen because he’s so good on the other side.”

Williams, a quiet, introverted who tends to be reticent during interviews, is stoked for his first Super Bowl appearance on the field. It happens to coincide with his last chance to increase his market value before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

“He’s elated, his excitement is through the roof, over the top with emotion,” said Dexter, who is attending Sunday’s game with his wife, Renita, a registered nurse. “I just tell him to enjoy the moment. Not too many people get to this point in their life. He didn’t get to play in the first Super Bowl, so make the best of it.”

Big payday coming

While the ball-hawking Williams has the big-play ability to be a factor in the Super Bowl, the reality is he’s struggled to duplicate his 2020 season. He still hasn’t intercepted a pass in 925 snaps, the sixth-highest total on the Rams’ defense, albeit he missed three games with an ankle injury.

There are multiple theories on why his production has dipped, including Williams going up against more impactful receivers. He’s had to deal more in the postseason with covering elite tight ends Zach Ertz, Rob Gronkowski and George Kittle, resulting in a significant Pro Football Focus coverage grade drop to 43.2 in the playoffs.

Depending on the Rams’ Super Bowl coverage strategy, including whether Ramsey tracks Bengals’ dynamic receiver Ja’Marr Chase all day, Williams could be asked to cover Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd or tight end C.J. Uzomah at various times.

If Los Angeles’ stout pass rush of Aaron Donald, Von Miller and Leonard Floyd can take advantage of the Bengals’ suspect offensive line, a big beneficiary may be the Rams’ secondary getting legitimate turnover opportunities.

“The thing Darious hasn’t done this year that he did last year was get his hand on more balls, but he’s made some big pass breakups,” Snead said. “There’s times the coverages are going to be lenient. As the Tampa Bay game went along and Tom [Brady] knew it was do or die, he chose to go away from Jalen more times than not.”

Last year, WIlliams was rated the fourth-best cornerback in the league by PFF with 18 combined interceptions and pass breakups. That largely explains why the Rams offered him the team’s only first-round tender at $4.766 million in 2021, ensuring other teams wouldn’t match the offer and snatch him away.

While his INT/PBU total was half of what it was last season, Williams is still expected to command a big payday in free agency. PFF projects him to receive a three-year, $40 million contract with $22.5 million guaranteed, but those numbers are wildly speculative. He remains non-committal on his destination next season.

“I talked to my agent obviously, so that's just the next step. Free agency is just the next step," Williams said. "We'll see where we go to, whatever the case may be. I always expect better things to come. Free agency is just another thing, just another little step in the road.”

So much will depend on how the Rams elect to address their salary cap (Spotrac lists them $8 million over the cap), primarily whether they elect to re-sign other free agents like Miller and receiver Odell Beckham, Jr.

“If [Williams] had been a UFA last year, he might have got $10 million-plus a year,” said Snead. “We’ve got some higher-paid pillars and don’t necessarily have the cap room. Someone either gets paid more than we can handle or for whatever reason, someone’s market gets suppressed and we’re able to fit players under our cap situation. That’ll all play itself out.”

Regardless of who is Williams’ employer next season, or how much longer Wolford holds a clipboard in Los Angeles, they have now positioned themselves to be long-term fixtures in the league.

Considering what it took for them just to get a foot in the NFL door, John Wolford and Darious Williams have far exceeded expectations.

gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Rams' Jacksonville teammates John Wolford, Darious Williams eye title