Jameson Williams Using Practice to 'Perfect Every Little Thing'
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Yes, Detroit Lions second-year wide receiver Jameson Williams made a mistake, and violated the NFL’s anti-gambling policy earlier this offseason. And yes, it does mean that he will be forced to sit out the team’s first six games of the 2023 season.
However, his looming suspension doesn’t mean the Alabama product won’t be working hard during OTAs and the remainder of offseason practices to get himself right and on the same page with Jared Goff and the Lions’ offense.
"I'm just trying to get better every day,” Williams said, when asked about what he's trying to accomplish during OTAs and the next couple of months of the offseason. “At some point, I can't be with the team. So, I'm using all this time to perfect every little thing me and the QB, me and the team, me and the offense need. So, that's the main thing right now. Just focusing on all that before I get my time away and then come back to the team. So, just focusing on fixing the little things and making everything good.”
Williams, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, missed the first 11 games of his rookie campaign while recovering from a torn ACL. He proceeded to suit up for six games and record one catch for 41 yards and a touchdown (on nine targets). The speedster also amassed 40 yards on an end-around in Detroit’s Week 17 victory against the Chicago Bears.
© Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK
After being away from the field as much as he was a season ago, Williams has a number of things that he wants to prove not only to the Lions fanbase but also to himself.
“I feel like I've got a lot to prove to myself before I prove anything to anybody else,” Williams expressed. “I've got goals that I've set that I just want to accomplish, knock off my goal list, like getting on the field, things like that. So, hopefully once those things come, the fans will be pleased on how I play football, what I do (and) things like that.”
Williams is committed to “taking the city (of Detroit) to another level.” And, in order to be able to help the Motor City do just that, he knows, on the field, that he needs to continue working on his route-running.
"My whole life as a receiver, I've been working on how to perfect routes,” Williams told reporters during the first week of this offseason’s OTAs. “I just want to have the most perfect routes, the best feet. I look at a lot of guys, like old timers, how they run routes. I take a lot of that and add that to my game. So, it's just perfecting my route-running, with my speed, to help me get open. Play with the speed a little bit, how to run this route, how to run that route, where to be with the QB, the timing, things like that. So, the route-running is probably like the thing I've focused on the most and getting that down, so we can play football for real."
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