As soon as last year ended for the Lions, Jameson Williams flipped his focus to this year. He scored two touchdowns in Detroit's loss to the 49ers in the NFC title game, but his first two seasons left a lot to be desired. When he returned for workouts this spring, "I came back on a mission," Williams said.
"My mission was just to be the best player I can be, get back to where I was before I was injured. That was just my goal. I wanted to be explosive, be a big part of the team," he said Monday after the Lions' first padded practice of training camp.
Camp opened last week with Williams getting behind the defense, hauling in a bomb from Jared Goff and striding into the end zone on one of the first plays of team drills. It looked like a receiver and a quarterback in lockstep, which hasn't always been the case between Williams and Goff. Williams said the two of them got together for a couple throwing sessions in LA this offseason and "got right."
"He’s a guy that can score in one play and you’ve seen it in his career," Goff said last week. "He gets the ball, he scores quite a bit. But he just continues to get better. His consistency has raised a ton, and he knows what time it is for himself and our team. He's come to work really well and done a good job. If he can stay healthy like he has been and be on the field for us the way he has early in camp, it’s a whole new explosion of our offense. He’s fun to throw to.”
Williams, 23, said he can't really explain it, but "I feel a lot different" entering his third season. For one, he's more comfortable in Ben Johnson's offense, which "comes with being out there and playing football, knowing what I'm doing." Dan Campbell, who raved about Williams' readiness back in the spring, said Monday, "This is the most confident that I’ve seen him since he’s been here."
"He came in with the right mindset when we started this offseason, and that has not waned one bit," Campbell said. "He’s in a good place and he’s taken the coaching, he’s trying to work on it, he’s improving and he’s making plays, so we like where he’s at mentally and emotionally."
"I'm having a lot more fun than I was," Williams said.
Williams has been so engaged at practice that he and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn have developed a little rivalry. They were barking at each other between snaps during an 11-on-11 period on Saturday, the way Glenn used to go at it with former Lions running backs coach Duce Staley. While discussing Williams' progress and "the energy we’ve got at practice right now," Campbell paused to point out, "The only thing I would say is, everybody’s gotta keep their head."
The fans can hardly keep theirs whenever the ball goes Williams' way. He makes a catch, they cheer louder than they do for anyone else. He doesn't, they slump defeatedly back into their seats. That's the tug of his talent, and the pull of his personality. Williams' star qualities are hard to resist, even if his stats have yet to catch up. No. 9 jerseys are ubiquitous in the stands in Allen Park.
"I really want to show a bigger reaction, but I just want to focus. Inside, it makes me feel real good, though," Williams said. "The fans have been here for me, they're going to be here for me for a long time. That just gives me more confidence to go out there and do it for them. Make a play for them. They're going to turn up the whole team."
The Lions are counting on Williams this season more than ever. They let Josh Reynolds walk in free agency and didn't make any moves to replace their No. 2 receiver and best deep threat the past two seasons. They expect Williams to take that job and run with it, like he did on his first catch of camp.
"Yeah, absolutely," GM Brad Holmes said Monday on 97.1 The Ticket. "Look, he’s got so much ability, the sky’s the limit for him. Obviously we know how fast and explosive he is, he’s got great length, but just him becoming more nuanced as a route-runner, he’s wired the right way, he’s physical. It’s hard to find guys with that kind of speed and explosiveness who are that physical and gritty. That’s one of the things that really enamored us in the draft process.
"But yeah, we have high expectations for him. He’s not going to put too much pressure on himself, but we’re just going to trust the process on him."
When the Lions drafted Williams 12th overall shortly after he'd torn his ACL in the national championship, they knew they'd need patience. They wound up needing more when he missed the first four games of last season due to a gambling suspension and then came along slowly in an offense with lots of players who need the ball.
Still, Holmes calls Williams' rocky start "a little bit of a blessing in disguise because those two years, I just felt like it was a lot of growth and maturation within himself and in his game. I think now we’re all seeing all the work that he’s put in."
Williams stretches a defense with the mere threat of his speed. He also exposes it over the middle, where he's begun to make more plays in camp. He's an extremely difficult cover on crossers. The Lions see him as a deep threat, yes, but not just a deep threat. Williams sees the same for himself. He averaged just two catches on 4.7 targets per game last season, production that pales in comparison to his ability to get open.
"I expect a lot more," he said. "I want to be the best to ever play the game at my position, and I'm just getting started. Year three right now. I feel like I've got a long way to go. I've got a lot of stuff to work on."
Williams acknowledged he can't just be the fastest player on the field. He needs to sharpen the details of his routes, like his releases against press-man coverage and the timing of his breaks. He's getting good work in this regard against new Lions cornerbacks Carlton Davis III and Terrion Arnold, the latter his "little brother" at Alabama. Williams weighs the same as he did last year, but he's stronger in his legs after a more focused offseason of training.
He also looks surer of his hands. The drops that have plagued him in the past seem to be out of his system, thanks to constant drill work with Lions wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El. Williams does have a habit of jumping to catch passes that could be caught in stride, which can limit his ability to make plays after the catch. That feels like another area where he can grow this summer and into the season. Vertical routes aren't the only ones where he should be a threat to score.
"I feel like I’ve seen a lot more accountability out of him," veteran guard Graham Glasgow said Tuesday on 97. 1 The Ticket. "In the past, he may have dropped the ball a little bit too much and he’s been working on that, working on his hands. Not only that, but outside of being accountable to us, I feel like he’s been a lot more accountable to himself and setting high expectations for himself. And it seems like the early returns are good."
Asked for his perspective on Williams' growth after the first few practices of camp, safety Kerby Joseph said, "Y’all see Jamo. Ain’t my perspective. Y'all see him. He been working all offseason, I’m so proud of him. I’m just excited to see what he can do. When he gets out there, all eyes on him. So, Big Play Jamo."
"It's just about showing up to work, doing what you do," said Williams. "And if you do what you do the right way, the opportunities are going to come."
Now, we'll see what he does with them.