As soon as John Morton arrived this offseason, Jameson Williams popped into his office. The Lions' new offensive coordinator detailed his vision and his expectations for the team's most explosive receiver. During workouts in Allen Park a few months later, Morton raved about the way Williams was answering every challenge, and predicted another step forward for a player coming off his first 1,000-yard season.
"He has been unbelievable," Morton said at the time. "Just unbelievable. In the meetings, the attention to detail, I mean, I’m so excited to see him this year. It’s going to be a breakout year for him. I can’t wait. I just can’t wait, man."
We can tell. The Lions' offense opened 11-on-11's Tuesday in training camp the same way they did Monday: with a deep shot from Jared Goff to Williams. They failed to connect, but feeding Williams already looks like a priority for Morton. Asked after practice about the initial challenges Morton placed in front him, Williams said, "I already checked those off, so now we on to new things."
"Once you get those things down pat, you keep getting better and getting new things checked off, and the more, the more you can do, the better you can get," he said.
Williams caught 58 passes for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns last season, finished second in the NFL in yards per catch, and might have just been getting started. Among the dozens of players with at least 900 receiving yards, Williams had the fewest targets and fewest catches. Imagine what he might be able to do if the ball comes his way more often, even just a little in an offense with so many mouths to feed.
It was thus noteworthy that when Williams was asked where he feels like a more polished receiver entering year four of his career, he said, "My route running."
"Coach Johnny Mo lets me run more routes. I knew I could run more routes, but he’s putting me in position to run more routes, so I’m getting better with cuts and angles and how to run this route and that route," Williams said.
The Lions did expand Williams' route tree last season under Ben Johnson. He had been mostly a deep threat or a decoy over his first two choppy seasons, which were abbreviated by injuries and a suspension. He blossomed last year into a more complete receiver. Morton intends for that growth to continue.
Williams has been all over the field through the early stages of camp, with Goff looking frequently looking his way. They narrowly missed on another deep ball toward the end of Tuesday's practice after Williams outran D.J. Reed down the middle of the field. Williams has celebrated almost every catch by roaring and flexing his arms -- even a short pass over the middle on Tuesday during 7-on-7's -- like a player who knows he has more to give.
His early impressions of Morton's offense?
"He’s real aggressive, and I just like that about him, I love that about him, the way he coaches, the way he calls his plays, how he attacks the game," said Williams.
Williams, 24, said his chemistry with Goff is "something we can continue to work on and get great at. We’re not at our best right now, but eventually we’re going to keep working and it’s going to be clicking by the season."
But overall, Williams is "a lot more comfortable" heading into his fourth year with the Lions.
"Going through the plays, going through the motions, it feels a lot better knowing what you have to do and knowing what routes you got, what’s the split, and things like that," he said. "It always feels good just knowing what you can do."
As for his personal goals, Williams doesn't really set any. If he stays healthy, he figures the stats will take care of themselves. His only goal, he said, "was to make it to the NFL."
"I’m here. Now I gotta win," Williams said. "That’s my goal: win."