Washington Commanders select Antonio Williams in third round of 2026 NFL Draft

Former Clemson wide receiver Antonio Williams has been selected by the Washington Commanders in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft. The Tigers’ multi-faceted playmaker will now take his versatile talents to the next level.

The 5-foot-11.5, 187-pound Williams is coming off a rather disappointing senior season in which he once again led Clemson with 55 receptions for 604 yards but managed just four touchdowns while being limited to just 10 games due to injuries. In 2024, Williams was a first-team All-ACC selection after leading the Tigers with a career-high 75 receptions for 94 yards and 11 receiving scores, tying for seventh nationally that season. He also averaged 9.6 yards on 17 punt returns in 2024.

The two-time All-ACC pick finished his four-year Clemson career with 2,336 yards and 21 touchdowns on 208 career receptions while starting 38 of 43 games played with the Tigers between 2022-25. In fact, Williams ranks fourth in program history with 208 career catches, and is tied with fellow alum Mike Williams (no relation) for fourth place on Clemson’s all-time receiving touchdowns list with 21.

Williams signed with Clemson as a Top-75 player and four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting cycle out of Dutch Fork (Irmo, SC), where he was ranked as the No. 3 player in the state, the No. 12 receiver in the class, and the No. 75 player overall, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted composite of all three major recruiting media services.

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In what’s being called a particularly deep receiver class, NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein originally projected Williams would be a likely third-round selection. Zierlein highlighted Williams’ consistent production throughout his four seasons at Clemson, averaging 52 receptions for 584 yards and 5.25 touchdowns for his career.

Zierlein was also pointed to Williams’ versatility and “rare ability to throw, catch, run and return punts,” as well as his “wiggle-and-go” with a “running back’s vision and cut quickness with the ball in his hands.” Suffice it to say, Williams simply knows how to make plays with the ball. As far as potential weaknesses, Zierlein cited Williams’ history of missing games with nagging injuries and general lack of “top-end speed” to stretch the defense despite running a 4.41-second 40 at the NFL Combine in February.

“Williams is a bona fide ball player with good size and an ability to make mischief when he totes the pigskin. There is freestyling inside his routes that create uncertainty for corners, but teams might drill down on attention to detail and better efficiency to keep him on schedule,” Zierlein wrote about Williams. “He’s not a field-stretcher, but he plays fast from snap to whistle and has the ball skills to bring in challenging catches. He’s more slippery than explosive with outstanding run-after-catch ability. Williams projects as a productive slot receiver with legitimate run/pass/catch talent that should appeal to creative play-callers.”