Joshua Williams should take lessons and move on for Kansas City Chiefs

It is difficult to find something new to be said about the Kansas City Chiefs loss to the Buffalo Bills. The playcalling has been scrutinized, replays have been dissected, and improbable solutions have been proposed. That is all part of being a fan, especially after the Chiefs lose. We all care about the team and want to see them succeed. Out of that shared interest comes various degrees of hostility, pessimism, and respect for players as people. Rookie cornerback Joshua Williams is one player who unfairly drew fans’ negativity on Sunday.

You can go elsewhere for all the things Williams did wrong on Sunday. Frankly, he was in an unenviable position against Buffalo. A fourth-round rookie out of Fayetteville State, Williams had to cover Bills receivers Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis. Williams was CB3 on Sunday but would be CB5 if injuries weren’t a problem. Williams only had 14 pass coverage opportunities this entire season before Sunday. Yet, he had to cover Diggs, one of the league’s best receivers, and Davis, who absolutely torched Kansas City for four touchdowns in January. Trial by fire is an understatement.

I’ll say it again. Williams had his first career start against the league’s best offense this season. His performance is what fans should expect out of someone at this point in his career. Williams’ performance elicited a lot of the usual social media negativity. If you want to see it for yourself, go read the Facebook comments or tweets from game day. To all those decrying Williams not only as a player but as a person, have some perspective and decency, please.

Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Joshua Williams had an ugly first career start. Overall, how can the rookie improve on his performance?

Look back on San Francisco 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward‘s time in Kansas City. There were several moments in 2018 when Ward did not look good. He did not look like a future starter, a Super Bowl champion, or a player who would cash in for a long-term free-agent deal. Ward took the experience from 2018, however, and grew from it, with several successful years in Kansas City to show for it.

Players usually struggle early in their careers. For every headline rookie, there are 14 others struggling for playing time to stay on the roster or just get better however they can. Even those star rookies fall off because there is a lesson to be learned in adversity.  If Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo told Williams he would only cover Buffalo’s WR5, then there would be no opportunity for Williams to grow. Sure, a gradual rise to higher competition is ideal, but Williams was the man, healthy and available.

As players like Trent McDuffie and Rashad Fenton return from injury, Williams can hopefully shift to face opposing players equal to his current skill level. A player’s season or career outlook should not be defined by a single game. That is not only unfair to the players and team, but to the fans as well. That would be like expecting rookie cornerback Jaylen Watson to average a pick-six every game after he had one in his first career start. Likewise, Williams’ performance will not be the same every week.

Every week is a new challenge for any NFL player. Whether it be a challenging coverage assignment, a nagging injury, or pressure from coaches, there is something different. Williams had the challenging coverage assignment this past game in spades. However, the experience he got is invaluable and serves Williams better down the stretch. Instead of facing Diggs, Davis, or another elite receiver in the postseason, he gets his first experience during the safe period of the regular season.

Williams has two different ways he can respond to Sunday’s loss. On one hand, he can focus on what he did wrong, hang his head, and take a negative mindset through the season’s remaining games. But, he can also use this game to see where he can improve, work on it during the week and on game day, and focus on his own growth. I would prefer the latter. That makes for not only a better player but also a happier person and teammate.

I won’t pretend to know how Williams can improve his technique or handle his assignments better. The Chiefs pay their coaches very handsomely for such knowledge. What I do know is that no one has to let their life’s challenges decide their fate. Instead, how they respond to those challenges decides your fate. In Williams’ case, that fate is a successful NFL career or not. Take the lessons, hear the criticism from your inner circle, and keep moving.

The only new thing I can say about Williams is that I am looking forward to his next start. Hopefully, the lumps he took on Sunday will make him a more resilient player down the road.