Heading into the season, you would not have said that wide receiver Mike Williams would be the team’s most productive pass-catcher.
Through the first two games, that is the direction that it is headed.
After an eye-popping season opening performance against Washington in his new role as the ‘X’ receiver, Williams followed that up with another productive day in last Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys.
Leading the team in targets with 10, Williams amassed seven catches for 91 yards and a touchdown.
After Week 2, Williams is now up to 15 receptions for 173 yards and two scores on 22 targets, which is second-most among receivers in this league and one more than Keenan Allen.
In Joe Lombardi’s system, Williams has aligned outside 98 times and 17 inside the slot, and his ran 83 routes on 103 of quarterback Justin Herbert’s dropbacks.
As opposed to being a jump ball specialist down the field, like he was the last four years, Williams has made the majority of his money in the short and intermediate levels of the field.
Instead of being restricted to primarily vertical routes, Williams has proved that he can handle more diverse patterns while still managing to use his size, quick reflexes, body control and ball skills to make plays look routine.
If he keeps this up and manages to stay healthy, Williams is going to make himself a lot of money this offseason.