Desmond King

The Los Angeles Chargers finished tied atop the AFC West with a 12–4 record in 2018 and earned a wildcard berth. On January 6, 2019, King started his first career playoff game and recorded four combined tackles and one sack during the Chargers’ 23–17 victory at the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Wildcard Game.

On October 14, 2018, King recorded two solo tackles, three pass deflections, and intercepted two pass attempts by Browns’ quarterback Baker Mayfield during a 38–14 victory at the Cleveland Browns in Week 6. On November 4, 2018, King made three combined tackles, broke up two pass attempts, and returned an interception for a 42-yard touchdown during a 25–17 win over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9. King intercepted a pass by Seahawks’ quarterback Russell Wilson, which was intended for wide receiver David Moore, during the fourth quarter. His performance in a Week 9 earned him AFC Defensive Player of the Week. In Week 13, King collected a season-high ten combined tackles (nine solo) and returned a punt for a 73-yard touchdown as the Chargers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 33–30. He received AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance. He finished the season with 67 combined tackles (47 solo), ten pass deflections, three interceptions, a forced fumble, and one touchdown in 16 games and eight starts. King also had 22 punt returns for 522-yards (23.7 YPR) and 23 kick returns 318-yards and one touchdown (13.8 YPR). King received an overall grade of 90.4 from Pro Football Focus in 2018, which ranked as the second highest grade among all cornerbacks. On January 4, 2019 King was named to the Associated Press All-Pro Team, earning first-team accolades as a defensive back and second-team as a punt returner.

The Los Angeles Chargers selected King in the fifth round (151st overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. He was the 21st cornerback and the last of four Iowa players drafted in 2017.

On May 11, 2017, the Los Angeles Chargers signed King to a four-year, $2.67 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $279,992.

He made his professional regular season debut in the Los Angeles Chargers' season-opener at the Denver Broncos and made one pass deflection during their 24–21 loss. Starting cornerback Jason Verrett suffered a torn ACL during the game and was placed on injured reserve for the rest of the season. King was promoted to the third cornerback on the depth chart behind Casey Hayward and Trevor Williams in his absence. The following week, King earned his first career start as the starting nickelback and collected six combined tackles in a 19–17 loss to the Miami Dolphins. In Week 8, King recorded four solo tackles and made his first career sack on Tom Brady during a 21–13 loss at the New England Patriots. On November 23, 2017, King recorded five solo tackles, a pass break up, and returned his first career interception off Dak Prescott for a 90-yard touchdown during a 28–6 victory at the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving. On December 10, 2017, King made his fourth career start and made a season-high ten combined tackles, a pass deflection, and sacked Washington Redskins' quarterback Kirk Cousins during the Chargers' 30–13 victory. King finished his rookie season in 2017 with 76 combined tackles (66 solo), five pass deflections, and an interception in 12 games and four starts. He also returned 17 kickoffs for 353 yards. He received an overall grade of 86.5 from Pro Football Focus in 2017, which ranked as the 14th highest grade among all qualifying cornerbacks. His grade was also the third highest among all rookie cornerbacks in 2017.

King attended Iowa under head coach Kirk Ferentz. As a true freshman at the University of Iowa in 2013, King appeared in all 13 games and made 12 starts. He was the first true freshman to start at defensive back for Iowa since 2002. He started all 13 games his sophomore year in 2014 and had 64 tackles and three interceptions. King returned as a starter his junior year in 2015. He also became Iowa's punt and kick returner. After a terrific junior season in which he had 43 tackles, and a Big-Ten high 8 interceptions, King was named a consensus first-team All-American and won the 2015 Jim Thorpe Award, which is given to the best defensive back in all of college football. Despite being projected as an early-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, King announced that he would return to Iowa for his senior season. On November 29, 2016, King was name First Team All-Big Ten for the second season in a row. He was also named a 2016 AP Second-Team All-American.

Desmond King II (born December 14, 1994) is an American football cornerback for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He earned All-Pro honors in 2018 as both a defensive back and a punt returner. He previously played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes.