On the eve of his fourth NFL season, Jameson Williams signed an $80 million extension with the Lions. He caught fewer than three passes for the fourth straight game in the Lions' win over the Bengals last week. 119 players have more catches this season than Williams' 11, including 27 running backs and 28 tight ends.
Objectively speaking, this is not how the Lions or Williams envisioned things going thus far. Offensive coordinator John Morton predicted a "breakout year" for Williams this summer with the former first-round pick coming off his first 1,000-yard season in the pros. Williams said he was running more routes within the offense, and shined for most of camp. Even with the Lions' deep cast of weapons, all signs pointed toward Williams getting more targets, more catches and more yards.
That hasn't happened. At the same time, the Lions lead the NFL in scoring for the second straight year with 34.8 points per game.
"He’s got certain plays, and whether they get called in the game just depends on what (the defense is) doing," said Morton. "We have to adapt and see what they’re doing."
This is not how fans (or fantasy owners) of Williams envisioned things going, either. Asked Thursday about the fans who are clamoring for him to get the ball more, Williams smiled and said, "I don’t have nothing to say, really. It’s really like, we just go, we win, it is what it is — we win. I don’t really want to say too much or speak on it."
Williams did not say this in bitterness or spite. He just knows his words can be twisted if he's not careful. Part of the reason he's yet to do much damage other than two long catches in the Lions' rout of the Bears in Week 2 is that opposing teams have used extra defenders and shell coverages to prevent Williams from getting behind them.
The Lions have reaped the rewards elsewhere.
"I most definitely see it, but we just game-plan and go against it," Williams said. "If they got two on me, we go somewhere else. It’s obviously light somewhere else if you put two people on one person. It gives us an advantage, I think."
Morton said the Bengals, for example, played far more two-high zone coverages last week than they had in the first few games of the season, to take away the threat of the deep ball. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta feasted on the free space underneath. LaPorta had his best game of the season with five catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, mostly on intermediate throws.
"I think that’s a Jameson effect," Morton said. "There’s a lot of weapons, so they changed it up a little bit and it took a little bit of his throws away. Listen, every game’s different. Everybody’s got a certain amount of plays, there’s a lot of guys that I’ve got to try to get the ball. I was feeling Saint last week, rightfully so, right? He helped us win that game. Like I said, I don’t care what the coverage is, I’m going to call his number. He’s reliable. The quarterback knows that, too. But I think with Jameson, there’s a big threat out there, and teams are now just playing a little bit different."
In the meantime, Williams hasn't complained. He hasn't caused a stir on the sidelines. He hasn't slacked off in his blocking assignments. All of which would be natural reactions for a highly-paid wide receiver who's not getting the ball. Despite catching one pass on one target for nine yards last Sunday, Williams had his "best, cleanest, most physical (performance in the) run game," Lions wide receivers coach Scottie Montgomery said Wednesday.
"And it’s coming off a situation where it didn’t go the way that he wanted it to go, and then he didn’t make as many plays as he wanted to make. You’re a wide receiver, you better want the ball. But on the sideline, every single play, he was so excited for everybody. I was a little shocked. But at the same time, listen, he knows why he’s here. We expect more plays to be made, we want more plays to be made, but as he goes through this he’s becoming a more complete player," said Montgomery.
Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard schemed against Williams and the Lions' offense throughout training camp. He can appreciate the challenge of trying to contain one of the game's most explosive players, and the strain that it places on a defense in other areas.
Sheppard was asked Thursday what opposing teams are doing to deny Williams the ball that the average fan might not understand and said, "I would hope the average fan appreciates 34 points a game. I hope the average or the below-average fan, I hope a kid would appreciate their team -- their hometown team -- scoring 30 points a game."
"But I can’t imagine the job that John Morton’s tasked with," Sheppard said. "He’s done an unbelievable job. I mean, if I got handed the keys to that and got told, ‘You have five to six high-level players that expect 10 touches a game,' well, I need 80 plays on offense to get that done. There's a time and place for everything. ... And finding that, maybe he’s opening up windows for all of these explosive underneath routes that you’re seeing LaPorta, Saint, Gibbs have because you’ve got to keep a shell over top of them."
The targets haven't totally dried up for Williams. His stat line could look a lot different had he and Jared Goff connected on a couple deep balls in the Lions' win over the Browns in Week 4 when Williams turned eight targets into just two catches. He's second in the NFL in yards per catch (20.3) for the second straight year, which is exactly why opposing teams are paying him so much attention. No one wants to get beaten over the top.
It is not the Lions' aim on offense to force-feed certain players so that everyone gets an equal slice of pie. Their aim is to outscore the opposition. So far, they're doing a pretty good job.
"I would hope that not only the fans but the media, everybody understands the job that John Morton has been tasked with taking over that offense," said Sheppard. "And then let’s just congratulate him for the job that he’s done and not try to nitpick at things about, 'Why isn’t this guy, why isn’t that guy getting the ball?' He’s doing an incredible job and right now we’re No. 1 in offense in scoring, which helps me as a defensive coordinator."
Williams will break through soon, perhaps Sunday night in Kansas City. He's too talented to be held down for long, and defenses will eventually have to adjust their coverages to account for the weapons around him. Seasons are cyclical. Just don't expect Williams to start pouting about his role in the best offense in the NFL.
"If he’s not unselfish," Montgomery said, "he’s fooling the hell out of me."