2023 was a special year for former Murray State football player and current New York Jets linebacker Quincy Williams as he was selected to be an NFL All-Pro.
An All-Pro player is seen as one of the best in the NFL, with a First and Second team making 60 total recipients. Not only was Williams named an All-Pro player; he earned first team honors, making him one of the top three linebackers in the NFL.
In an article for the Jets’ official website, Williams said he made it a goal to be an All-Pro this year, and he is incredibly happy to have accomplished it.
“My focus this year was to improve my game in a way that others would take notice, and this shows I did,” Williams said. “I have to thank my teammates and coaches for helping me accomplish this. The important thing for me now is to continue working to get better and help the Jets win.”
Jets teammates have pushed for Williams to receive this honor as far back as October, when his younger brother, Jets interior lineman Quinnen Williams, said on X: “Quincy Williams 1st Team All-Pro Linebacker.”. The post came just five weeks into the season, when Quincy had 48 tackles and five tackles for loss.
Jets Head Coach Robert Saleh has called Quincy Williams a “game-wrecker at linebacker” and had much to say about the former Racer after a week five game against the Denver Broncos.
“He backs it up every day, he backs it up in practice, he backs it up in meetings,” Saleh said in the postgame press conference. “I’m so proud of him. You talk about the players, they get thrown away and they try to find their way. He stuck to it, kept his head down, kept working and he’s found his way, and we’re very fortunate that we have him.”
Quincy Williams’ time in the NFL has been a roller coaster since being drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round of the 2019 draft. In his first season with the Jags, he had 48 tackles and two tackles for loss while starting in eight of his 11 games played.
Williams struggled with injuries in the 2020 season and played just seven games, recording 11 tackles and not starting in a single game.
But once the Williams brothers reunited in New York in 2021, Quincy flipped his career around, recording 110 tackles, nine tackles for loss and three forced fumbles while starting in 13 of his 16 games played.
Quincy started 15 of the Jets’ 17 games in 2022, but a two-week injury halfway through the season caused a slight dip in his stats.
He bounced back in 2023, recording a career high in tackles with 139, a career high in tackles for loss with 15 and his first career interception in week 16 against the Washington Commanders. He accomplished all of this while playing in every Jets game this season and starting in all but one game.
Williams was also voted AFC Defensive Player of the Month in October when he recorded 45 tackles and six tackles for loss. In 2023, he finished fifth in the NFL in solo tackles with 95.
Since his time at Murray State, Quincy Williams has made noise at the top level of professional football. Now, after earning All-Pro honors in 2023 and being named one of the top three linebackers in the league, he’s standing at the top of the mountain.
