On the first target of his second season with the Lions, Jameson Williams did everything right except for, well, catching the ball. He ran a good route, got himself open -- wide open -- and let a perfectly-thrown pass from Jared Goff sail through his hands. For anyone hoping the first-round pick had put the drops behind him, it was a reminder that Williams has work to do.
Which is fine, says Jared Goff. No one inside the Lions' building expected Williams to be flawless out of the gate. He missed the first four games of the season due to a gambling suspension, after logging a smattering of snaps in six games last season following a torn ACL. Drops are part of the game. And while they've been a theme for Williams in Detroit, and an occasional issue in his college days, Goff won't stop looking his way.
"It’s not like he’s the first guy in the history of football to have a drop," Goff said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "It’s going to happen and just come back the next play. It’s not going to deter me from throwing him the ball. It never will. As long as he keeps getting himself open, I'm going to keep delivering him the ball and he’ll make those plays."
Williams played 28 snaps and ran 15 routes in the Lions' 42-24 win over the Panthers. He caught two passes for two yards on three targets. He did block well in the running game, tossing aside a safety to spur David Montgomery's 42-yard touchdown, but it wasn't the season debut that Williams was likely hoping for. Dan Campbell says it's no reason to worry: that was more or less what the Lions expected.
"He’s got a lot of room for improvement, which I totally expected for his first one out since preseason," Campbell said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "He’s got room for growth. We love the way he was getting in there mixing it up, he made some big blocks for us in the run game, you could feel his speed on some of these linear routes down the field.
"And look, that was step one. For me, it’s all about getting him acclimated and getting him back. And now the development starts over, it begins. Now you’re in the building, you’re at every practice and his reps will go up here. And the more that he can prove that he can do and help us, the more we’ll ask him to do."
Goff and Williams are still building chemistry. Of the nine passes Goff threw his way last season, eight hit the ground, two of which were dropped. The only that didn't went for a 41-yard touchdown. They also linked up on a 65-yard touchdown that was erased by a holding penalty. On the drop he committed Sunday, Williams was running free over the middle but seemed to be thinking about his next move with a defender closing in on him when the ball arrived.
"He was off for the last four weeks, he wasn’t around, so there’s going to be bit of a warm-up process for him, which is fine," said Goff. "We know that, and he’s doing a great job every day in the building. I thought the last week of practice was one of the best weeks of practice I’ve seen from him. He just keeps getting better. It’s exciting, it’s really exciting. His full potential is really high and the sky’s the limit for him. Just keep working him in and hopefully as time goes on, his workload gets more and more."
Goff, like Campbell, also praised Williams' commitment in the run game.
"To be honest, his blocking was tremendous. I know that’s not a stat you see from receivers, but he sprung some of those runs both early and late in the game. He loves blocking and he’s good at it, and that’s a good sign from a receiver, a guy that enjoys it and wants to see his running backs do their thing," said Goff.
As the work continues for Williams, the workload should continue to grow.