On March 2, 2015, he opted to participate at Minnesota's pro day, along with David Cobb, Cedric Thompson, and 11 other teammates.
[7] At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Williams was projected to be a second or third round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts.
[8] He was ranked the top tight end in the draft by NFL analysts Charles Davis, Mike Mayock, Lance Zierlein, NFLDraftScout.com, and Sports Illustrated.
They initialized the trade after multiple reports suggested that the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to select Williams with their second round pick (56th overall).
[15] Afterwards, Steelers' general manager Kevin Colbert denied the claim, stating they were planning to select Senquez Golson either way.
[17] Throughout his first training camp with the Ravens, he competed against Crockett Gilmore, Nick Boyle, Dennis Pitta, and Konrad Reuland for the vacant job as the starting tight end after Owen Daniels departed in free agency.
On November 15, 2015, Williams made four receptions for 40 receiving yards and caught his first career touchdown during a 22–20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
During the game, Bengals' linebacker Vontaze Burfict blindsided Williams while he was running a route in the end zone on the opposite side of where the actual play was happening.
[24] He competed with Gilmore, Dennis Pitta, and Nick Boyle throughout training camp for the job as the second tight end.
The Ravens had signed Benjamin Watson during free agency to assume the job as the starting tight end.
Head coach John Harbaugh named Williams the third tight end to begin the regular season, behind Dennis Pitta and Gilmore.
[27] The knee injury required surgery to remove cartilage and he was estimated to miss a minimum of eight weeks or possibly the remainder of the season.
He competed with Benjamin Watson, Dennis Pitta, Gilmore, Nick Boyle, Ryan Malleck, and Larry Donnell for the role as the starting tight end.
He was named the third tight end behind Boyle and Watson to start the season after Dennis Pitta retired due to another hip injury and Gilmore was placed on injured/reserve with a torn MCL.
[47][48] Brian Williams was a three-year letterman at center at Minnesota and was selected in the first round (18th overall) by the New York Giants in the 1989 NFL draft.