The Denver Broncos’ secondary will be thoroughly tested by the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense, and they’ll need all the help they can get, in order to be up to the challenge. With that in mind, the health status of K’Waun Williams is something for Broncos Country to monitor between now and kickoff.

Williams was limited in practice last week, before being marked as ‘out’ for the Broncos’ matchup with the Baltimore Ravens. This week, Williams was limited on Wednesday and Thursday, before being a full participant in Friday’s practice.

When asked on Friday if we’d see K’Waun Williams on Sunday, head coach Nathaniel Hackett said that Williams had looked great in practice, but refused to elaborate further.

There’s no denying the importance to the secondary of Williams, and his absence has certainly been felt in recent weeks, as Denver has turned in more mediocre performances defensively.

“[He means] so much [to our secondary],” Hackett said of Williams’ value. “Just today, he had an awesome play on the ball. I love watching him out there and his intensity. He’s one of those quiet guys that plays with his pads and plays his game out on the field. He is so important for our team.”

The need to have K’Waun Williams out there is heightened this week, not only because the Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes and a devastating offense, but also because of how intelligent an offensive crew Kansas City is. Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes are both some of the most remarkably smart people at their respective positions, and as a result, having high IQ players like Williams in the secondary is extra valuable.

“He’s a very smart football player,” Hackett said, in regard to how difficult it is to gameplan against him. “He has the ability to play a little bit of man, play zone, and understand the route combinations. I just think how that whole backend meshes, especially when he’s in there, is really something special. They just have to keep grinding with that.”

We should know by game time whether or not the Denver Broncos will get an added boost from K’Waun Williams, and they’ll need it.