Chiefs waste no time locking up Nohl Williams after third-round leap

Rookie contracts are a formality in the modern NFL, and it's very, very rare to see any real drama around whether or not a player will sign it. (Although, tell that to Shemar Stewart and the Cincinnati Bengals.) Thus, it's no surprise to see that the Kansas City Chiefs already have Nohl Williams officially signed well before the season starts.

Williams, a lengthy corner out of Cal, was drafted by the Chiefs in the 2025 NFL Draft's third round at No. 85 overall.

Williams' new deal spans the next four seasons and comes in at $6.33 million total. He'll receive a signing bonus of approximately $1.25 million, which is the only guaranteed money in the deal. This year's cap hit for the Chiefs will be $1.15M. The maximum cap hit, which comes in 2028, would be just over $2M.

Nohl Williams has officially signed his rookie deal with the Chiefs.

The Chiefs were so enamored with Williams in this year's draft class and/or so afraid that another team might get in their way that they dealt the only compensation they received in the Joe Thuney trade with the Chicago Bears to move up 10 spots at the bottom of the third round to select him.

Given Williams' very impressive production and reputation as a ballhawk while at Cal, it makes sense why the Chiefs would seek to add his skill set to an already stocked young secondary. Last season, Williams led the nation with 7 interceptions and finished his collegiate career with 25 pass deflections and 14 total picks.

Corner wasn't the greatest immediate need, but Williams was an important long-term play for general manager Brett Veach to add to the mix. Jaylen Watson, Joshua Williams, and Nazeeh Johnson are all set to become free agents next spring. The same could be said of Trent McDuffie, but the Chiefs are expected to offer him a long-term contract extension in the near future.

Given the potential of losing so much talent and depth, the Chiefs added Williams to give themselves a core of McDuffie, Kristian Fulton, and Williams going into 2026.

Defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott, who was selected in the second round out of Tennessee, remains the only rookie who has yet to sign a contract with the Chiefs.