NFL franchise reportedly 'kept an eye' on Tennessee Vols player before signing him as an undrafted free agent

The Seattle Seahawks reportedly kept a "close eye" on former Tennessee Vols returner Dee Williams during the 2024 NFL Draft.

When Williams went undrafted (as expected, due to the fact that he was used almost exclusively as a returner at Tennessee), the Seahawks quickly swooped in and signed the former Vol.

In order to make sure they signed Williams, Seattle gave the Georgia native the second highest guarantee ($100k of his salary is guaranteed by the Seahawks) of any undrafted free agent in 2024, according to The Seattle Times .

The Seattle Times also noted that the Seahawks signed Williams just minutes after the 2024 NFL Draft, in part because they knew there was a strong possibility of the NFL approving a new kickoff rule (which they did).

From The Seattle Times : The Seahawks long had their eye on Williams, knowing that the NFL was scheduled to vote on the new kickoff format again in the spring (it passed on a one-year trial basis). That interest included bringing him in for a pre-draft visit and meetings with special-teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh and former special-teams captain Neiko Thorpe, now a defensive assistant.

“They just always stuck around with me through the draft process and obviously just felt like this place was home for me during that time,’’ Williams said.

Williams, who worked with the offense and defense at Tennessee, is playing on the defensive side of the ball for the Seahawks. However, he's expected to be primarily used as a returner.

In a preseason game against the Tennessee Titans last week, Williams returned a kickoff 41 yards. He also fielded four punts, fair catching three of them and returning one for five yards (even though he didn't rack up big yardage on his punt returns, it was still a good showing for the former Vol as he showed that he's sure-handed).

Williams, who returned two punts for touchdowns at Tennessee, set a Vols record by averaging 15.4-yards per punt return during his two years on Rocky Top.

Williams has a chance to stick in the NFL for a long time thanks to his elite return abilities. The Seahawks clearly recognized those elite abilities early in the draft process, which is why they moved quickly to bring the former Tennessee returner out west after the completion of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Related: Former Vols DB Brandon Turnage explains why he transferred to Ole Miss and makes strong statement about his time at Tennessee