'We'll Find Out': Lions Will Challenge Jameson Williams
The Detroit Lions will challenge rookie wideout Jameson Williams in order to properly evaluate what he can accomplish early in his NFL career.
Now that the coaching staff has seen the No. 12 overall pick on the field, the team can work to achieve the vision it had for the offense prior to the start of the season.
“I think back in the springtime, we had a pretty good vision for how we’re going to use him. And, that hasn’t changed, especially after what I saw yesterday," Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said Thursday. "So, we’ll see. And, it’ll be a little trial and error, too.
"Is he Tyreek Hill or (Jaylen) Waddle from Miami, I don’t know if he’s quite like that. He’s a little bit. He’s unique," Johnson explained further. "And so, we’ll find out. We’ll find out what he’s capable of, and same thing we talked about in the springtime and the summertime, all the wideouts, we’re going to get them outside of their comfort zone a little bit and see if they can surprise us with showing us some things. So, we’ll do that with him, as well.”
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With Williams, DJ Chark and Josh Reynolds all getting healthier, the running game also has the potential of taking more strides.
Lions running backs coach Duce Staley indicated that having the offense get healthier sends a message to everyone that the team is still fighting to compete and to get on the field to contribute.
"Talking about those guys, they’re excited to be back, being together as a group, getting out there, contributing," said Staley. "Can’t say enough about that. Can’t say enough about their attitude to work hard to get back, and it just tells you, those guys are fighting. Our team -- we need them back. It talks to the running backs, as far as just being able to play together, block longer. It sends those types of messages, man. Not saying they haven’t been doing that. But, it just sends those type of messages when you get those receivers back.”
