Will Hernandez
William "Will" Hernandez[1] (born September 2, 1995) is an American football guard for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UTEP.
![]() Hernandez at 2017 C-USA Media Days | |||||
No. 76 – Arizona Cardinals | |||||
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Position: | Guard | ||||
Personal information | |||||
Born: | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | September 2, 1995||||
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||
Weight: | 335 lb (152 kg) | ||||
Career information | |||||
High school: | Chaparral (Las Vegas, Nevada) | ||||
College: | UTEP (2013–2017) | ||||
NFL Draft: | 2018 / Round: 2 / Pick: 34 | ||||
Career history | |||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||
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Career NFL statistics as of Week 18, 2022 | |||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
College career
After redshirting his first year at UTEP in 2013, Hernandez started all 49 games from 2014 to 2017. After the 2016 season, Hernandez was a second-team All-American.[2] After the 2017 season, Hernandez was named to the C-USA first team.[3] He was also invited to the College Football All-Star Challenge.[4]
Professional career
see below:
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Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
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6 ft 2+3⁄8 in (1.89 m) |
327 lb (148 kg) |
32 in (0.81 m) |
9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m) | 5.15 s | 1.75 s | 2.96 s | 4.70 s | 7.59 s | 24 in (0.61 m) | 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) | 37 reps | |
All values from NFL Draft[5][6] |
New York Giants

The New York Giants selected Hernandez in the second round (34th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft.[7] Hernandez was the second guard drafted in 2018, behind Notre Dame's Quenton Nelson (sixth overall).[8]
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On May 12, 2018, the New York Giants signed Hernandez to a four-year, $7.45 million contract that includes $5.08 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $3.49 million.[9]
Hernandez was named the Giants starting left guard to start 2018, starting all 16 games and was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.
On October 29, 2020, Hernandez was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Giants after he tested positive for COVID-19.[10][11] On November 10, he returned to the active roster.[12] However, despite his healthy return, he remained a backup for the remainder of the season, losing the starting left guard position to rookie Shane Lemieux.[13]
Arizona Cardinals
On March 28, 2022, the Arizona Cardinals signed Hernandez to a one-year contract.[14] In Week 4 game against the Carolina Panthers Hernandez was ejected in the fourth quarter for making contact with an official.[15] He was placed on injured reserve on November 9, 2022.[16] He was activated on December 17.
On March 15, 2023, Hernandez signed a two-year contract extension with the Cardinals.[17]
References
- "Will Hernandez on Pro-Football-Reference". rbref.com. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
- Bret Bloomquist. "UTEP lands two on All-America football team". El Paso Times.
- http://sidearm.sites.s3.amazonaws.com/conferenceusa.com/documents/2017/12/5/2017_All_Conference_Teams.pdf?id=8758
- "Will Hernandez set to compete at All-Star Football Challenge". kvia.com.
- "NFL Draft Prospect Profile - Will Hernandez". nfl.com. March 1, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
- "Texas-El Paso OG Will Hernandez : 2018 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
- "2018 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- Wesseling, Chris (April 27, 2018). "Giants select Will Hernandez with No. 34 overall pick". NFL.com.
- "Spotrac.com: Will Hernandez contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
- "Sources: Giants OL Hernandez has positive test". ESPN.com. October 29, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- Schwartz, Paul (October 30, 2020). "Giants' offensive line up in air after Will Hernandez's COVID-19 diagnosis". New York Post. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- Eisen, Michael (November 10, 2020). "Giants waive CB Corey Ballentine; Will Hernandez, Dante Pettis activated". Giants.com. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- "Shane Lemieux's solid play keeps Will Hernandez on the bench". November 16, 2020.
- Urban, Darren (March 28, 2022). "Cardinals Sign Will Hernandez For Offensive Line". Arizonacardinals.com.
- Urban, Darren (October 5, 2022). "Will Hernandez Has No Regrets For Helping Teammate Even With Ejection". azcardinals.com.
- Urban, Darren (November 9, 2022). "Will Hernandez Goes To IR; Cardinals Claim OL Wyatt Davis". AZCardinals.com.
- Urban, Darren (March 15, 2023). "Cardinals Re-Sign Will Hernandez, Ezekiel Turner". AZCardinals.com.