Updated Jan. 2, 2026, 3:29 p.m. CT
Isaiah Williams has been a silver lining on a tough season for the NFL’s New York Jets.
The 5-foot-10, 185-pound undrafted free agent from Illinois was voted the Jets’ Most Valuable Player on Friday, based on a vote of his teammates.
Williams’ path to MVP was far from direct. The second-year receiver and kick returner was signed off the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad to start the year and then was waived by the Jets after a pair of mistakes during returns early in the season.
Two days later, the Jets resigned him to the practice squad, and a week later he was back on the active roster.
Since Week 6, Williams is averaging 14.1 yards across 26 punt returns with two TDs. He also is averaging 31.3 yards on 20 kick returns in that same span, earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 8 and securing a spot as a second alternate for the 2026 Pro Bowl Games.
“In that moment after I got cut, I knew that God still had good plans for my life,” Williams told the team website. “But if you would have told me I would be team MVP by the end of the season, I would have probably looked at you crazy, if I’m being honest.
“After I got cut, I thought I was going to be on practice squad for the rest of the year just working, getting better. And then if the opportunity came, it came.”
Williams also has stepped up as a receiver over the last month of the season as he Jets struggle with injuries. He has 16 catches for 132 yards over the last five games as the Jets play out the string of a 3-13 season.
“It’s been tremendous,” Jets special teams coordinator Chris Banjo said of Williams’ season. “To see the way he started the year and what he’s been able to do since, his commitment to who he is as a person but also his growth and development as a player, has been really cool to see.”
Williams left Illinois in 2023 as an all-Big Ten receiver, finishing with 214 catches, 2,304 yards and 14 TDs across mostly three seasons. He was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2024.
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