BIOGRAPHY
Andrew Billings was born on March 6, 1995, in Waco, Texas. He is a defensive tackle in the National Football League.
Billings attended Waco High School in Waco, Texas. He was rated by Rivals.com as a four-star recruit and committed to Baylor University to play college football. Billings also competed in powerlifting during high school and broke Mark Henry's Texas record with 2,010 pounds. The record was set with an 805-pound squat, a 500-pound bench press, and a 705-pound deadlift.
As a true freshman at Baylor in 2013, Billings played in 11 games and made two starts while recording 29 total tackles. As a sophomore in 2014, he started all 13 games and was named All-Big 12 after recording 37 tackles and two sacks.
The Cincinnati Bengals selected Billings in the fourth round (122nd overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. He was the 16th defensive tackle selected in 2016. His fall in the draft was greatly unexpected as no teams gave any indications of it prior to the draft. He was projected as a first-rounder in multiple mock drafts by Pro Football Focus and NFL analysts Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. There were many speculations that ranged from his lack of height and size for his position and a possible knee injury. Bengals' head coach Marvin Lewis said “I think his height maybe was restrictive in some ways for some people at times but we’ve done pretty well these guys.”. Billings stated in regards to his fall in the draft, "This is something I'm going to carry with me my whole life," Billings said. "It's actually a good thing for me." He drew comparisons, by multiple media outlets, to teammate Geno Atkins and his equally unexpected slide in the draft during the 2010 NFL Draft.
He recently signed a two-year deal with the Cleveland Browns in 2020. On February 27, 2022, Billings signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. Billings joined the Chicago Bears in 2023.
