Neither Rattlesnakes Nor Crowded Backfield Worry Williams
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Jamaal Williams isn’t worried about his next contract and he’s not worried about the number of opportunities in what looks to be a crowded Green Bay Packers backfield.
Williams is entering his final season under contract. A big fourth season in the NFL could set him up for a big payday next offseason. However, not only is he behind Aaron Jones on the depth chart but second-round rookie AJ Dillon looks like he could be an immediate difference-maker.
The happy-go-lucky Williams doesn’t seem care about any of that.
“About the carries thing, shoot, it’s just fun,” Williams, his “Joker” mask barely able to hide his smile, said after Wednesday’s training camp practice. “I really feel like we have a good group and people can make plays, and we got playmakers. It just feels like high school. You always have playmakers on your team, so you have to take the reps you got and go score from there. I feel like that’s the mind-set we like and we have. We just want to take the ball and score every time. It’s just that type of time to be on and make that big leap, and make it to the Super Bowl. We want to win a Super Bowl. We want that ring. It just gets me excited. It just gets me excited to play.
“I love football.”
There’s no doubt about that.
While Jones was one of the NFL’s breakout stars last season, Williams wasn’t exactly chopped liver. In fact, he flourished in LaFleur’s zone-based running attack. He had the best season of his career in terms of yards per carry (4.30), receptions (39) and total touchdowns (six). Without the flash of Jones, Williams’ all-around steady play is easy to take for granted.
Williams worked hard to get ready for this season. His Twitter stream was filled with videos of grueling workouts in Scottsdale, Ariz., with his trainer, Luke Neal, who initially started working with Williams when he was the star running back at BYU. The sizzling heat of an Arizona summer was only among the dangers.
“I was working out on mountains with rattlesnakes and stuff like that,” Williams said. “Not a lot of people like rattlesnakes, not a lot of people like running hills at 12 o’clock in the afternoon when it’s like 110. I want to be great. I want to be great like Sweetness [Walter Payton] and his work ethic in the offseason. I want to be running hills and make sure that I’m making myself working hard like it’s training camp but even harder. I do whatever I can to make myself better for my team and myself.”
Later, Williams clarified that he didn’t see any rattlesnakes. But he heard them, which was enough.
“I’d rather just watch them on Discovery Channel, National Geographic,” he said.
Williams’ focus this offseason was on improving as a receiver. Among the guys slinging passes in Scottsdale was Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler, a five-star recruit who threw 11 passes as a freshman in 2019. The passing game is one of Williams’ strengths. He caught five touchdown passes last season, a feat matched in franchise history only by Ahman Green and Dorsey Levens. Through his work this summer, he believes he’s fine-tuned the subtle nuances necessary to consistently get open against linebackers and even defensive backs.
“It’s going to be hard for linebackers to cover him this year. Almost impossible,” Neal said. “DBs, he’ll give them a run for their money.”
Despite the dynamic duo of Jones and Williams and more immediate needs on the roster, the Packers used a second-round pick on a running back. Through four practices, few players have generated as much buzz as Dillon.
Williams knows the reality but isn’t about to back down from the challenge.
“I know what I can do, you know?” he said. “The competitiveness is always there but, at the same time, it's more about being competitive with yourself and making yourself the better person. While you're doing that, you see other people who've got the same drive and same hunger who want to be great, be the best, [and] that just makes positive competition. You know, it is all just love and peace in the room. There's no type of animosity, envy, nothing. It's just love and really just wishing for the best for each other because we know we can make ourselves better and be the game changers.”
