With More Practice, Jameson Williams Can Stack Days, Improve
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams has been heavily scrutinized since the team made him the No. 12 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
He's played in just seven games since his arrival as a result of a lengthy injury rehab and a suspension. In his 2023 debut, he had just two catches for two yards.
The Lions expect him to take on a bigger workload in the coming weeks. This will be welcomed by the young wideout.
Development at the NFL level is a process, one that Williams is still undergoing. As he continues to acclimate, he's focused on building positive performance on a day-to-day basis.
"For sure. Every day since I've been back. Even when I was gone, I was stacking days just for the time when I'd get back," Williams said. "Now I'm stacking days at practice with the team. We're just building every day."
Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson evaluated Williams' performance Thursday. Stacking good days is precisely the key for the Alabama product to earn a key role.
“He’s going to continue to get better every single week. That’s been the biggest issue with Jamo, is the fact that we haven’t been able to stack good days on top of each other since he’s been here," Johnson said. "And so, I’m really – he had a great week of practice last week. I’m looking forward to him doing that again this week because that’s the way you get better. That’s the way you gain trust of the play-caller, the quarterback. The quarterback will play faster, have more anticipation of where he’s going to be, and we’ll be able to continue to give him opportunities to catch the ball and be the playmaker that he’s capable of being."
"The coolest thing that came from the game the other day is, the guy is such a big competitor, you see him block in the run game like he is," Johnson continued. "If he blocks like that, there’ll be snaps for him every week. There’s no problem there. And then the challenge is, ‘Hey, how do we get him the ball?’ And we’ll keep pushing it that way. But I have no problem with where he’s at right now and where he’s going.”
The wideout had three targets Sunday, one of which being a drop on a pass over the middle of the field. He learned from the mistake, but is focused on not letting one bad play affect so much as the next snap.
Williams has been remaining on the field after practice sessions and getting extra reps with Jared Goff. These repetitions allow him to make up for his time away from the facility, which will benefit the connection he has with his quarterback.
"I guess just after practice, staying and getting a couple routes in. We've been doing that lately," Williams explained. "Making sure we've got the timing good, how we're gonna run it and where the ball should be and stuff like that. We've been getting that down after practice and getting some extra reps in."
The snap that garnered arguably the most attention for the second-year wideout was a key block he threw on David Montgomery's early touchdown run. He said adjusting to the flow of the game was not as difficult as he'd thought it be, as he remained in game shape while spending his time away from the organization.
As a result of his practice reps, he has quickly found his footing while working toward a bigger role.
"It ain't easy but we work every day," Williams explained. "That's the reason we've got practice for, so we can get practice and get reps and reps and reps and reps and reps on everything we're trying to do in games. It's been just like that, we've been going out there and getting work and getting better every day. Hopefully the time comes, it'll be coming soon."
The Lions have been able to sustain success early in the 2023 campaign. For Williams, he's hoping to join the fold in a big way while helping the team continue their winning ways.
"For the team, we're rolling," Williams stated. "That's now three in a row, so we're good, we're trying to get four in a row. For me, it's just another week. We're trying to get another win, we're trying to get to 5-1."
