Jamaal Williams wants to be heard, and he was starting to make noise in Green Bay. He plans to take it up a notch in Detroit.
The former Packers running back who signed with the Lions this offseason to form a one-two punch with D'Andre Swift said he's got big things coming in 2021 -- things he's already showing on the practice field during OTA's.
Just ask the linebackers trying to cover him in space.
"I be trying to tell the defense now, 'Don’t look at this number 30 and think, oh, running routes is gonna be easy-peasy,'" Williams grinned on Thursday. "I want that. I want all of that. And if you think you’re frisky, come one on one. I want all of that, you know what I mean?
"But people haven’t seen this side yet and that’s what’s going to be crazy. They’re about to get this juice. They’re about to get all this swag daddy, all of it. And they about to be like, 'Man, where was all this at?' And it’s really just me getting better and better and knowing the things I can work on to make those strengths, too."
In Williams and Swift, the Lions have a pair of backs who can hurt you both ways. Williams averaged 4.3 yards per carry (on well more than 200 attempts) and caught 70 passes over his final two seasons in Green Bay. Only seven other running backs in the league matched those numbers.
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But Williams was playing behind Pro Bowler Aaron Jones -- one of those seven other backs. With limited exposure came a limited spotlight. And while Swift is the No. 1 in Detroit, Williams figures to get a bigger share of the workload. So when he talks about showing people this side they haven't seen before, he's talking about ...
"Everybody, everybody ain't seen nothing yet," Williams said. "Everybody, really. The only people who’ve seen it is people in my inner circle training with me and getting me ready to come out here. Even now, my coaches see a little bit of it, but it’s still a lot more they got in store. I just want to come out here and be that weapon for the team in any way I need to be."
Offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn said Thursday that Swift is getting the first reps with the starters and Williams "works his way in there as well." He said they'll be competing for the starting job throughout the offseason and training camp.
"Both those guys have done an outstanding job of showing me what they can do in the running game and the passing game," Lynn said. "Williams is a bigger back. He can take more pounding, he creates more yards after contact based on what I’ve seen so far. Not to say that Swift can’t to those things, but they will be used according to their skillset. I think they’ll be a good 1-2 punch."
That sounds good to Williams, who just wants a chance to show what he's got.
"I'm just grateful to have people who believe in my talents and know what I bring to the team," he said. "And my thing is, I never want to let people who believe in me down."