The Lions are hoping for a big jump from Jameson Williams, and they like what they’ve seen so far. Dan Campbell says Williams looks better than he has in his first two seasons.
“This is the most confident that I’ve seen him since he’s been here,” Campbell said at his Monday press conference. “He came in with the right mindset when we started this offseason and that has not waned one bit. He’s in a good place and he’s taken the coaching, he’s trying to work on it, he’s improving and he’s making plays, so we like where he’s at mentally and emotionally.”
Such talk, of course, is common at this time of year. As much as anything else, I think coaches are trying to build up confidence. (You don’t hear anybody saying, “Well, he’s off to a iffy start so far, but it’s a long camp – hopefully he can turn things around.”
In the case of Williams, the Lions have little choice but to hope he can turn things around. They picked him with the 12th choice of the 2022 draft. And with Josh Reynolds having signed with Denver, the hope is that Williams can handle a much larger role, serving as a third option behind Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta.
He's shown some potential as a big-play option thus far, running mostly deeper routes. He’s also been good on end-arounds, with a 40-yard run as a rookie and 19- and 42-yard touchdown runs last year (the 42-yarder in the postseason).
But Williams hasn’t done much in terms of shorter routes and more complex route running. The Lions, as an example, attempted 45 passes inside the 10-yard line last year, and Williams wasn’t targeted on any of them. (Though he did catch a 3-yard touchdown in the playoff loss at San Francisco.)
He's also struggled with drops, many of them coming on what could have been impactful, downfield receptions. He dropped a touchdown bomb in the preseason last year, then dropped 4 more passes in the regular season (despite catching only 24 passes all year).
“His hand mechanics: he’s got to work those pre-practice, he’s got to work those post-practice,” Campbell said after the Baltimore game last year. “He’s got to grind on it. … There’s a number of things he can clean up. I think it’s just, man, time on task, work through it.”
Williams missed most of his rookie year as he came back from a knee injury. He missed the first four weeks last season while serving a suspension for violating the league’s policies against gambling.
Thus far as a pro, Williams has dropped 6 of the 31 catchable passes thrown his way (7 of 38 if we’re counting the postseason). That ranks him last among wide receivers in the last two years who had a chance to catch at least 30 passes.
| DROPPING 10-PLUS PERCENT OF PASSES (last 2 yrs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tot | Rec | Drop | Pct |
| Rondale Moore, Ari. | 90 | 81 | 9 | 10.0% |
| Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Ten. | 59 | 53 | 6 | 10.2% |
| Noah Brown, Dall.-Hou. | 85 | 76 | 9 | 10.6% |
| Allen Lazard, G.B.-NYJ | 93 | 83 | 10 | 10.8% |
| Zay Jones, Jac. | 130 | 116 | 14 | 10.8% |
| Courtland Sutton, Den. | 138 | 123 | 15 | 10.9% |
| Treylon Burks, Ten. | 55 | 49 | 6 | 10.9% |
| Puka Nacua, LAR | 118 | 105 | 13 | 11.0% |
| Amari Cooper, Cle. | 169 | 150 | 19 | 11.2% |
| Marquez Valdes-Scantling, K.C. | 71 | 63 | 8 | 11.3% |
| Gabe Davis, Buff. | 105 | 93 | 12 | 11.4% |
| Marquise Goodwin, Sea.-Cle. | 35 | 31 | 4 | 11.4% |
| Tee Higgins, Cin. | 131 | 116 | 15 | 11.5% |
| Jauan Jennings, S.F. | 61 | 54 | 7 | 11.5% |
| Jahan Dotson, Was. | 95 | 84 | 11 | 11.6% |
| Isaiah McKenzie, Buf.-Ind. | 60 | 53 | 7 | 11.7% |
| Marvin Jones, Det. | 58 | 51 | 7 | 12.1% |
| DJ Chark, Det.-Car. | 74 | 65 | 9 | 12.2% |
| Romeo Doubs, G.B. | 116 | 101 | 15 | 12.9% |
| Michael Gallup, Dall. | 84 | 73 | 11 | 13.1% |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Sea. | 73 | 63 | 10 | 13.7% |
| Kadarius Toney, NYG-K.C. | 50 | 43 | 7 | 14.0% |
| Rashod Bateman, Balt. | 55 | 47 | 8 | 14.5% |
| Tyquan Thornton, N.E. | 41 | 35 | 6 | 14.6% |
| Justin Watson, K.C. | 51 | 42 | 9 | 17.6% |
| Jameson Williams, Det. | 31 | 25 | 6 | 19.4% |
I’m not quitting on Williams just yet. I expect he’ll be a much busier deep threat this year, chipping in with some long-range touchdowns. But it’s looking unlikely that he’ll ever come close to justifying being selected in the first half of the first round.
—Ian Allan