As of last week, Jameson Williams had more games played than catches in the NFL. The former 12th overall pick was getting about two targets per game. Even this season, as his role in the Lions' offense has grown, Williams hadn't caught more than two passes in a game. It all felt very wasteful.
So his numbers in Detroit's win over Denver last Saturday felt like a feast: four catches on seven targets for 47 yards. The Lions targeted Williams early and often and he responded with the best catch and the best play of his career, a pair of glittery moments that reminded you why they drafted him so high in the first place.
"It’s like we’ve been talking about for quite some time with him," Jared Goff said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "It’s just reps. It was just a matter of time."
Williams was never really integrated into the Lions' offense as a rookie after he missed most of the season recovering from a torn ACL. He ran about six routes per game. And it took him time to get up to speed this year after his gambling suspension. He might be finally finding his stride. Williams averaged about 16 routes through his first five games this season, 25 over his last five.
He ran 26 routes and played a career-high 68 percent of the offensive snaps last week and drew the most targets from Goff outside of Amon-Ra St. Brown. This feels significant, because Goff throws to players he trusts.
"At some point in the middle of the season where the reps accumulated to the point where we all felt good with it, he’s become trustworthy," Goff said. "As time goes on, you start doing the right thing over and over and over again and I know where he’s going to be. ... I’m at the point with him where I can throw it with a lot of trust and anticipation on where he’s going to be, and he’s making the play."
Goff has been asked about Williams ad nauseam since the receiver debuted last season. This is the most confident he's sounded about their chemistry. The connection wasn't perfect last week, but it's an encouraging sign that Goff targeted Williams four times on the Lions' first four drives. Williams would have really popped had Goff hit him on a couple deep balls.
As it was, Williams made a 14-yard grab over the middle on a route out of the slot, turned an out route into an 18-yard gain when he danced past a defender with just a sliver of space on the sideline, and high-pointed a crossing route for another 14-yard gain the fourth quarter. The latter two plays had Ford Field buzzing.
Asked about Williams' sideline shake-and-bake of veteran cornerback Fabian Moreau, Goff said, "It was even more impressive watching it on film and slowing it down and seeing how little space he had to work with there and being able to tight-rope that sideline. It’s really impressive and it’s why he’s such a great player."
The Lions always imagined Williams would find his groove in the second half of this season. It's admittedly taken longer than anyone would have liked, Goff included. But as the playoffs near, maybe it's happening at just the right time.