Once upon a time, Isaiah Williams was a coveted recruit who would go on to play quarterback at Illinois. Now he's an undrafted wide receiver trying to make the Lions.
With jobs up for grabs behind Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Kalif Raymond, Williams should not be dismissed. He lacks the size the Lions are seeking to complement that trio, but not the production -- which at some point becomes impossible to ignore. Williams led the team in receiving in both of its first two preseason games, with the finale on tap Saturday at Ford Field.
Dan Campbell and the Lions have been "dying for" another receiver to step up for the duration of camp. Ideally, it would have been Donovan Peoples-Jones or Daurice Fountain, two big-bodied receivers built to replace Josh Reynolds on the outside. Fountain has faded after a strong start, Peoples-Jones has yet to really get going. On 12 combined preseason targets, they have four catches for 46 yards.
On 12 preseason targets of his own, Williams has 10 catches for 106 yards. He knows that he's playing for a spot on the roster, even as he does his best not to think about it.
"Personally, I try not to play the numbers game because I know the stress it’ll put on you," he said. "I just go out there, have fun and play free. When my name is called, make the plays and do my job to the best of my ability and I’ll just let that take care of it."
If extra work can make up for his 5'10 frame, Williams won't come up short. He and Raymond are the last two players off the field after almost every practice, accompanied by the mechanical hum of the JUGS machine. They spend 45 minutes or so catching passes and punts, a routine that Raymond adopted from Amon-Ra St. Brown (who now does his JUGS work before practice). Raymond noticed Williams putting in the work after practices this spring and has since taken him under his wing.
"It means everything to me," Williams said, "being a guy who was in my shoes, a guy that went undrafted, had to make his way and then made his way. Me being here, I see the work he puts in, I see how consistent he is, I see how the coaches can always depend on him, I see how he plays bigger than his size, all those things I look up to and are things that I want in my game.
"Just to see up close and personal, him and Saint, how both of them guys attack, it means everything to my development. That’s why I’m so thankful that I’m here, because I done learned so much from those two guys as far as catching, blocking, everything they do when it comes to this game is special. I see now exactly what it’s supposed to look like."
Williams said that every drill Raymond tells him to try on the JUGS ends up helping him in practice. A couple days ago, they were stretching to catch passes from their knees. He said that every scenario Raymonds tells him to prepare for winds up happening. Before Williams' preseason debut, Raymond told him, "Run every route like it’s coming to you. If you run it like you’re expecting it, your body is already ready to catch the ball. It’s a different level coming out your break." Williams caught all four passes that came his way.
Unlike Raymond, who played his college ball at FCS Holy Cross, Williams was a highly-regarded recruit. He was two-time Missouri Gatorade Football Player of the Year and one of the top cross-position players in the class of 2019. He was offered by every prominent Big Ten school, along with Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma and so on. After two seasons of playing quarterback at Illinois, including one game where he set the school's single-game QB rushing record, Williams was moved to receiver.
He caught 82 passes each of his final two seasons, mostly out of the slot. Notably, he said he had some of "my best games" playing on the outside. He was seen as a likely Day 3 pick this year, but went undrafted after clocking the slowest 40-yard dash among receivers at the combine.
After Williams caught six passes for 71 yards against the Chiefs last Saturday, Campbell acknowledged the dilemma. For as well as Williams has played, he's redundant to Raymond and St. Brown: "So where does he fit?" Campbell said the Lions would give Williams a chance to prove he can "survive" outside of the slot, without taking away too many opportunities from Fountain, Peoples-Jones and Kaden Davis.
Williams, who turned a screen pass in Tuesday's practice into a 60-yard touchdown, says he's up to the challenge: "Whatever they ask me to do, I’m just gonna do it. That's my mindset. But I most definitely feel like I can do it. I’ve done it before."
Williams' job is to make it as hard as possible for the Lions to cut him next Tuesday. With one more strong preseason showing, they might have no choice but to keep him. Games matter. Williams can double down on the statement he's made so far by making a couple plays on the outside in his Ford Field debut. It's just one preseason game, and it's just his first season, but for Williams Saturday looms large.
"I feel like when you put the pressure on yourself, that’s when it becomes bigger. But realistically, as a human, you feel it," he said. "That’s just the real part about it. You know what’s at stake, you hear stuff, social media, you see all these different things. The thing is, try not to give into it. For me, it’s more just like, what got you here, bro? Just playing ball, having fun and playing free."
Wherever Williams goes, he wears a smile. He has the same gratitude for the game as Raymond, two players who know nothing is given. As Raymond likes to say, "Once you stop growing, this league will outgrow you." Williams is just getting started, as he reaches for a roster spot in Detroit.
"I feel good," he said, "but I feel like there’s even more. I can get even better. I’m nowhere near what I can be, but I'm most definitely happy because this is exactly where I’m supposed to be."