I saw an article go by, with coaches speculating Jameson Williams might be ready to elevate his game to the elite level. If memory serves correct, there was some similar chatter last offseason.
As receivers coach Scottie Montgomery sees it (via mlive.com), Williams has been working hard, making himself a better player than he’s been in the past.
“Everything that we do, his detail, his eyes, his catch points, his checkpoints, everything that we’re doing now, we did March, April, man, it showed up,” says Montgomery, who spent four years in the league himself. “We’re really excited about where he is right now. This is definitely, by far, been his best offseason, his best chance to grow as a player since we’ve been here for a number of reasons, but he’s done a good job.”
All of which is fine. Williams has made big plays in each of his first four seasons. But I’m not confident he’ll ascend into what we might call an elite, difference-making wide receiver.
The Lions are well stocked with other pass-catching weapons, which has me leery of counting on Williams to see enough opportunities to move up to the 80-plus catch level. Amon-Ra St. Brown is a smart, tough go-to guy who gobbles up a zillion balls, and Sam LaPorta (if healthy) could be a top-10 pass-catching tight end. And there’s also Isaac TeSlaa, who showed some Jameson-like playmaking ability as a rookie.
TeSlaa (pictured) didn’t play a ton in his first year, but he made plays when he was out there, scoring only 6 of his 16 receptions. They’ll need to be using him a lot more. That makes me nervous about counting on much of a step up from Williams.
Admittedly, there are small sample size issues with TeSlaa. But since the merger in 1970, no other rookie wide receiver has caught 6-plus touchdowns while scoring on over a third of his receptions. They need to get him on the field more. (And I believe there was a feel-good story on him earlier in the offseason.)
Playing around with the numbers, only 12 other rookie wide receivers since 1970 have caught 6-plus touchdowns while scoring on over 20 percent of their catches.
| POTENT ROOKIE RECEIVER SCORERS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Pct | Next Yr |
| 2025 | Isaac TeSlaa, Det. | 16 | 239 | 14.9 | 6 | 37.5% | ?-?-? |
| 2014 | • Martavis Bryant, Pitt. | 26 | 549 | 21.1 | 8 | 30.8% | 50-765-6 |
| 1984 | Daryl Turner, Sea. | 35 | 715 | 20.4 | 10 | 28.6% | 34-670-13 |
| 1995 | Chris Sanders, Hou. | 35 | 823 | 23.5 | 9 | 25.7% | 48-882-4 |
| 1998 | Randy Moss, Min. | 69 | 1313 | 19.0 | 17 | 24.6% | 80-1413-11 |
| 1990 | Calvin Williams, Phil. | 37 | 602 | 16.3 | 9 | 24.3% | 33-326-3 |
| 1978 | John Jefferson, S.D. | 56 | 1001 | 17.9 | 13 | 23.2% | 61-1090-10 |
| 1976 | James Scott, Chi. | 26 | 512 | 19.7 | 6 | 23.1% | 50-809-3 |
| 2019 | • Mecole Hardman, K.C. | 26 | 538 | 20.7 | 6 | 23.1% | 41-560-4 |
| 1975 | Ray Rhodes, NYG | 26 | 537 | 20.7 | 6 | 23.1% | 16-305-1 |
| 1990 | Fred Barnett, Phil. | 36 | 721 | 20.0 | 8 | 22.2% | 62-948-4 |
| 2024 | • Jalen McMillan, T.B. | 37 | 461 | 12.5 | 8 | 21.6% | 12-178-0 |
| 2018 | • Anthony Miller, Chi. | 33 | 423 | 12.8 | 7 | 21.2% | 52-656-2 |
At the same time, let’s not make too much of what may be just a statistical blip. There have been four other similar rookie scorers in the last dozen years, and none really caught fire in their second season. Martavis Bryant caught almost twice as many passes, but with fewer touchdowns. Jalen McMillan got hurt, while Mecole Hardman and Anthony Miller fell short.
Which leaves us where? I’m expecting both Williams and TeSlaa to be more involved this year, but I’m not putting an asterisk next to either guy on my board. These are players that everyone is aware of, and I don’t think my expectations will be higher than the bulk of other drafters.
—Ian Allan
