# Terrance Williams
**Terrance Williams** (Terrance Tyrone Williams; born 1989 in Dallas, Texas) is a former [American football](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-football) wide receiver who played six seasons for the [Dallas Cowboys](https://www.edgepedia.org/dallas-cowboys) of the [National Football League](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-football-league), from 2013 to 2018, after a record-setting college career at Baylor University.[1](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WillTe01.htm) • [2](https://www.nfl.com/players/terrance-williams/stats/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1989, Dallas, Texas; 6 ft 2 in, 210 lb (188 cm, 95 kg)[1](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WillTe01.htm) |
| Draft | Dallas Cowboys, 3rd round, 74th overall, 2013 NFL Draft[1](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WillTe01.htm) |
| NFL career | 83 games, 68 starts, 232 receptions, 3,377 yards, 20 touchdowns, 13.8 yards per catch (2013–2018, all with Dallas)[2](https://www.nfl.com/players/terrance-williams/stats/) |
| Baylor career | 202 receptions, 3,334 yards, 27 touchdowns, all second in school history to Kendall Wright[3](https://baylorbears.com/news/2013/4/26/Williams_Selected_By_Dallas_Cowboys_In_NFL_Draft_s_Third_Round) |
| 2012 season | Led the nation with 1,832 receiving yards on 97 receptions, a total then ranked seventh in NCAA history[3](https://baylorbears.com/news/2013/4/26/Williams_Selected_By_Dallas_Cowboys_In_NFL_Draft_s_Third_Round) |
| Record game | 314 yards on 17 receptions at West Virginia on September 29, 2012, a Big 12 single-game receiving record[3](https://baylorbears.com/news/2013/4/26/Williams_Selected_By_Dallas_Cowboys_In_NFL_Draft_s_Third_Round) |
| After the NFL | Foot injury ended his NFL run in 2018; later played in the XFL and Canadian Football League and signed with the Galgos de Tijuana of Mexico's LFA for the 2023 season[4](https://as.com/us/nfl/ex-receptor-de-dallas-cowboys-jugara-en-mexico-con-los-galgos-de-tijuana-de-la-lfa-n/) |
## Early life and college career
Williams attended W.T. White [High School](https://www.edgepedia.org/high-school) in Dallas and played college football at [Baylor University](https://www.edgepedia.org/baylor-university) in Waco, about two hours from his hometown.[1](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WillTe01.htm) • [5](https://sportdfw.com/2021/05/23/dallas-cowboys-a-terrance-williams-retrospective/) He was a four-year starter and a 2012 graduate of Baylor with a degree in general studies.[3](https://baylorbears.com/news/2013/4/26/Williams_Selected_By_Dallas_Cowboys_In_NFL_Draft_s_Third_Round)
His production rose each season. As a junior in 2011 he caught 59 passes for 957 yards and 11 touchdowns; as a senior in 2012 he caught 97 passes for 1,832 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 18.2 yards per catch in an offense under head coach [Art Briles](https://www.edgepedia.org/art-briles) that emphasized vertical passing.[5](https://sportdfw.com/2021/05/23/dallas-cowboys-a-terrance-williams-retrospective/) [The 1](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-1),832 yards led the nation and ranked seventh all-time in NCAA history at the time.[3](https://baylorbears.com/news/2013/4/26/Williams_Selected_By_Dallas_Cowboys_In_NFL_Draft_s_Third_Round)
**Records and honors.** Williams earned 10 first-team [All-America](https://www.edgepedia.org/all-america) honors as a senior, making him Baylor's sixth all-time unanimous All-American, and was one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's top receiver.[3](https://baylorbears.com/news/2013/4/26/Williams_Selected_By_Dallas_Cowboys_In_NFL_Draft_s_Third_Round) During the 2012 campaign, he surpassed 100 receiving yards in eight of the 13 contests and never finished a game with fewer than 65 yards.[3](https://baylorbears.com/news/2013/4/26/Williams_Selected_By_Dallas_Cowboys_In_NFL_Draft_s_Third_Round) He broke Baylor's career record with 4,554 all-purpose yards, and his 314-yard game against [West Virginia](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-virginia) set a Big 12 record for receiving yards in a single game.[3](https://baylorbears.com/news/2013/4/26/Williams_Selected_By_Dallas_Cowboys_In_NFL_Draft_s_Third_Round) He finished his Baylor career with 202 receptions, 3,334 yards, and 27 touchdowns, each mark second in school history to Kendall Wright, and he owns or shares eight school receiving records.[3](https://baylorbears.com/news/2013/4/26/Williams_Selected_By_Dallas_Cowboys_In_NFL_Draft_s_Third_Round)
## NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys selected Williams with the 74th overall pick in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft, held at [Radio City Music Hall](https://www.edgepedia.org/radio-city-music-hall) in New York.[3](https://baylorbears.com/news/2013/4/26/Williams_Selected_By_Dallas_Cowboys_In_NFL_Draft_s_Third_Round) He became Baylor's fifth player drafted by Dallas and its first since guard Kelvin Garmon in 1999.[3](https://baylorbears.com/news/2013/4/26/Williams_Selected_By_Dallas_Cowboys_In_NFL_Draft_s_Third_Round)
**Rookie season, 2013.** Williams played all 16 games with 8 starts and caught 44 passes for 736 yards and 5 touchdowns.[2](https://www.nfl.com/players/terrance-williams/stats/) His 736 receiving yards were the fourth-most by a Cowboys rookie in franchise history.[6](https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/roster-rundown-rookie-blues-behind-him-wr-seems-ready-347421) In a game against Denver he caught four passes for 151 yards, including an 82-yard touchdown that ranked as the fourth-longest catch in team history and tied for the third-longest by a Cowboys rookie.[7](https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/star-williams-fulfilling-promise-to-his-brother-371066)
**Full-time starter, 2014–2017.** From 2014 on, Williams was a full-time starter lining up opposite [Dez Bryant](https://www.edgepedia.org/dez-bryant), and by March 2017 he had 177 career catches for 2,791 yards and 20 touchdowns.[8](https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/why-re-signing-terrance-williams-was-very-important-to-the-cowboys-429511) Williams's top season statistically was 2015, as his 52 receptions produced a team-leading 840 yards for Dallas, and his 173-yard performance in the final game versus Washington set a personal high while standing as the highest total for a Cowboys receiver since Dez Bryant posted 224 in 2012.[9](https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/roster-rundown-solid-throughout-season-williams-saved-best-for-last-400096) In 2016 he caught 44 passes for 594 yards and 4 touchdowns, and in 2017 he had 53 catches for 568 yards without a touchdown.[2](https://www.nfl.com/players/terrance-williams/stats/)
Availability was a defining trait of his career. DallasCowboys.com noted that he never missed a game through his first four-plus seasons, played hurt, and rarely missed a practice.[10](https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/sham-underappreciated-terrance-williams-still-reliable-second-receiver-446451) A 2017 free-agency analysis projected a signing team to expect him available for all 16 games and to produce roughly 50 catches on 90 targets for 800 yards and 5 touchdowns.[11](https://overthecap.com/2017-free-agency-terrance-williams) Coaches also credited his blocking; head coach [Jason Garrett](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-garrett) spent as much time praising his work as a blocker as his receiving after a 2016 game against the Rams.[12](https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/terrance-williams-out-to-prove-why-he-s-on-a-different-level-in-2016-410316)
**Reputation and criticism.** Williams carried a reputation as a body catcher who trapped the ball against his frame rather than snatching it with his hands, and fans blamed him for visible mistakes, including a failure to get out of bounds at the end of a 2016 season-opening loss to the Giants and a deflected pass returned for a touchdown by Green Bay in 2017.[10](https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/sham-underappreciated-terrance-williams-still-reliable-second-receiver-446451) A film-based retrospective in 2021 noted that he never recorded a 1,000-yard season, never caught more than 55 passes in a season, and never averaged more than 53 yards per game for a season, and that his pro day testing, including hand size, vertical jump, 10-yard split, and 3-cone drill, was unremarkable for a receiver.[5](https://sportdfw.com/2021/05/23/dallas-cowboys-a-terrance-williams-retrospective/) The same retrospective argued his skill set fit an X receiver (the lead, typically big-play wideout role in a formation) in a vertical passing game, the role the Cowboys largely used him in.[5](https://sportdfw.com/2021/05/23/dallas-cowboys-a-terrance-williams-retrospective/)
## Final NFL season and later career
Williams played only 3 games in 2018, catching 2 passes for 18 yards, as a foot injury ended his NFL career that season.[2](https://www.nfl.com/players/terrance-williams/stats/) • [4](https://as.com/us/nfl/ex-receptor-de-dallas-cowboys-jugara-en-mexico-con-los-galgos-de-tijuana-de-la-lfa-n/) He finished with 83 games, 68 starts, 232 receptions, 3,377 yards, and 20 touchdowns, all with Dallas.[2](https://www.nfl.com/players/terrance-williams/stats/)
After leaving the NFL he played for teams in the XFL and the [Canadian Football League](https://www.edgepedia.org/canadian-football-league), and in January 2023 he was announced as a signing of the Galgos de Tijuana of the LFA, the professional American football league of Mexico, for the 2023 season.[4](https://as.com/us/nfl/ex-receptor-de-dallas-cowboys-jugara-en-mexico-con-los-galgos-de-tijuana-de-la-lfa-n/)
## References
1. [Terrance Williams Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College, Pro-Football-Reference.com](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WillTe01.htm)
2. [Terrance Williams Stats Summary, NFL.com](https://www.nfl.com/players/terrance-williams/stats/)
3. [Williams Selected By Dallas Cowboys In NFL Draft's Third Round, BaylorBears.com (April 26, 2013)](https://baylorbears.com/news/2013/4/26/Williams_Selected_By_Dallas_Cowboys_In_NFL_Draft_s_Third_Round)
4. [Ex receptor de Dallas Cowboys jugará en México con los Galgos de Tijuana de la LFA, AS USA (January 2023)](https://as.com/us/nfl/ex-receptor-de-dallas-cowboys-jugara-en-mexico-con-los-galgos-de-tijuana-de-la-lfa-n/)
5. [Dallas Cowboys: A Terrance Williams Retrospective, SportDFW (May 23, 2021)](https://sportdfw.com/2021/05/23/dallas-cowboys-a-terrance-williams-retrospective/)
6. [Roster Rundown: Rookie Blues Behind Him, WR Seems Ready, DallasCowboys.com](https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/roster-rundown-rookie-blues-behind-him-wr-seems-ready-347421)
7. [STAR: Williams Fulfilling Promise To His Brother, DallasCowboys.com](https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/star-williams-fulfilling-promise-to-his-brother-371066)
8. [Why Re-signing Terrance Williams Was "Very Important" To The Cowboys, DallasCowboys.com (March 26, 2017)](https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/why-re-signing-terrance-williams-was-very-important-to-the-cowboys-429511)
9. [Roster Rundown: Solid Throughout Season, Williams Saved Best for Last, DallasCowboys.com](https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/roster-rundown-solid-throughout-season-williams-saved-best-for-last-400096)
10. [Sham: Underappreciated Terrance Williams Still Reliable Second Receiver, DallasCowboys.com](https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/sham-underappreciated-terrance-williams-still-reliable-second-receiver-446451)
11. [2017 Free Agency: Terrance Williams, Over the Cap](https://overthecap.com/2017-free-agency-terrance-williams)
12. [Terrance Williams Out To Prove Why He's On A Different Level In 2016, DallasCowboys.com](https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/terrance-williams-out-to-prove-why-he-s-on-a-different-level-in-2016-410316)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › American football players, coaches, and executives › Wide receivers › Active NFL wide receivers › Veteran NFL wide receivers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license