Pride of Detroit
After a breakout 2024 season, Lions fans should be celebrating the rise and redemption arc of Jameson Williams, not debating his long-term fit.
Hey, here’s an idea: how about we let Jameson Williams play this upcoming season before we start making plans for his future, yeah?
I know. I get it. You’re still not over how he missed the majority of his rookie season with an ACL injury he suffered in the National Championship game that same year. You might still be stuck on how a 23-year-old could make some questionable decisions, like lighting off fireworks or getting suspended for gambling while on the job site. And he still didn’t learn from those mistakes. After all, he was suspended again for “PEDs” last year, and that incident with a gun, surely all that would prevent him from reaching his potential, right?
Wait, he finished 2024 as one of the most dynamic big-play threats in the NFL? Of the 94 wide receivers with at least 45 targets, Williams finished fourth in yards per reception (17.3) and third in yards after catch per reception (8.4). But what about his hands? I remember how his hands were a huge problem at training camp, and he was catching the ball with his body too much… He posted the 18th-best drop rate (3.3%, two drops) and finished ahead of similarly targeted receivers like DeVonta Smith and Nico Collins (both at 5.6% and four drops a piece) and Jaylen Waddle (9.4%, six drops).
Alright, so he had one good season; that doesn’t mean you empty out your wallet for the guy. The Detroit Lions are stock-full of skill position players, some that may need extensions after this season, like Sam LaPorta. Even Brad Holmes admitted that wide receivers are expensive, “very expensive,” in fact. But what seems to get glossed over from Holmes’ media availability at the owners meetings was what he had to say earlier about Jamo.
“Look, he was a tremendous player for us last year,” Holmes said. “He’s still scratching the surface. I do think he’s got more in him as well. So I just think it just makes sense for us to do what we can to keep him around.”
Sounds like a player that the general manager thinks pretty highly of, but I wonder what the coaches think of him…
“Unbelievable. Just unbelievable,” new offensive coordinator John Morton had to say about his first impression of Williams. “When I first got here, he came in to see me, we had a chat, and I’m painting the picture, ‘This is what you need to do, this is how I see it,’ and he has been unbelievable. Unbelievable in the meetings, the attention to detail; I mean, I’m so excited to see him this year.”
Even the guy heading up this whole operation, Dan Campbell, is excited for what’s to come for Williams, even looking to him as one of the focal points for the offense moving forward.
“The sky’s the limit for...
