Jameson Williams might lack reps in the NFL. He might lack games, catches and touchdowns, so far. He does not lack self-belief. Asked how his 45-yard touchdown in the Lions' win over the Bucs last week boosted his confidence, Williams said Thursday, "My confidence was already out the roof."
"That’s just how I think about myself. I think I’m the best. So as a boost, it maybe sent me from like 100 to 150," Williams said with a smile. "I would say that."
Williams is starting to feel it. He and Jared Goff are starting to connect. Had it not been for a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage last week, Goff might have hit Williams for an even longer touchdown after the 22-year-old receiver had torched Bucs cornerback Jamel Dean on a stop route down the sideline.
But again, if you ask Williams, he and Goff have been on the same page from the start. Now they're just getting an opportunity to show it on Sundays.
"I’ve always had a high comfort level with Goff, since we started knowing each other," Williams said. "It’s never changed with me not getting the ball, me not getting in the game, me missing time on the field. It’s always been a high confidence level."
For all the angst, understandably so, about Williams' hands, he made a big-time catch on his touchdown. After streaking past Bucs safety Ryan Neal, Williams had to wait on the ball, which wasn't Goff's best throw, and twist and turn to locate it in the air. When it finally came down, Williams secured the catch through contact as he fell into the end zone.
"Last week was one of his best weeks of practice and it continued through this week," Goff said after the game. "It’s continually getting better and he’s continually working hard on everything. When he does it right, it’s hard to find someone that can do it better. It’s just a matter of getting on the same page and feeling confident with everything. It’s fun to get him involved like that to put some credibility to the work that he’s done."
Williams only played 16 snaps and ran nine routes last week, down from 30 snaps and 15 routes the week before. But more work is coming his way. Dan Campbell said that even if you "take away the touchdown catch," Williams made strides in his second game of the season after his four-game gambling suspension.
"He played better. He was cleaner," Campbell said. "You don’t know what play might come that really just boosts your confidence and I can tell you this, it’s not going to hurt it one bit. That was a hell of a play for us. And really, that broke the game open. You felt like that was the one."
Williams can be the missing piece of Detroit's already explosive offense with his ability to stretch the field. That's exactly what he did on the touchdown, which came on third and 10 and with the Lions leading 10-6 in the third quarter. Campbell said "we needed to take a shot on third-and-long and for Jamo, man, that was perfect."
"The way he hit it up, running the dagger, get to the inside edge of the hash and then, man, just take it and Goff laid it out there and trusted it. And then his adjustment to the football, it was outstanding. Listen, proud of him. That was a hell of a play. Now it’s just, let’s get a little bit better, let’s get a little bit better. And we’ll give him more opportunities," Campbell said.
Williams is no stranger to celebrating touchdowns. He scored 15 of them at Alabama the year before he was drafted 12th overall by the Lions. But when he came to his feet in the end zone last week, he laughed and said he wasn't really sure what to do. He indulged the crowd for a moment, and then ran to Detroit's sideline.
"I be in the moment," Williams said. "That’s why I be runnin' off, I don’t really know what to do. We can celebrate on the sideline. I don’t got no celebration for the end zone, so we gonna go do it on the sideline."
Williams can celebrate wherever he wants, as far as the Lions are concerned. All good if he keeps making plays.