Two weeks ago, there was surprising news from the NFL that they were reinstating Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams. By now, we should all know that over the summer, Williams was suspended by the NFL for gambling at the Lions team facility in Allen Park.
For Williams, he got the opportunity to suit up against the Carolina Panthers for the first game of his second season in the NFL. Certainly, the expectations were high for Williams, as they always have been for him. After all, the Lions traded up in the 2022 NFL Draft to select him out of Alabama with the 12th overall pick.
Despite only having one career reception to his name after his rookie season, there’s still plenty of belief that Williams can be the player everyone had hoped for him to be. Let’s jump into the film room to see what we saw from Jameson Williams in his debut for the 2023 season!
Let’s just start with the drop and get it out of the way. No doubt about it, when you look at the play above, it’s discouraging. As it should be. Williams made comments going into the game against Carolina about how he had served his suspension by using a jugs machine at his house to catch footballs. When talking with reporters, he had stated that he was catching “about 100 balls a day.” All of that sounds good but it’s important for positive results to follow.
Looking at the play above, you’ll see Williams highlighted in the slot. As the Lions come out in a 2×2 set, you’ll notice Williams run a whip route back towards the middle of the field. With the two defenders in the same zone as Williams, you’ll see how they let him run free as both defenders have a miscue while trying to attack the swing route out of the backfield.
Instantly, Jared Goff realizes this and he sees Williams wide open. As he should, he delivers a pass right at Williams. Unfortunately, it looks like Williams mistimes the speed of the pass and it forces his hands to be slightly late in trying to secure the pass. This leads to the obvious drop, in which, many people believe he could have scored on the play. While that’s all possible, it also looks like Williams could have gotten rocked by the inside linebacker that was coming downhill with a purpose. Tough drop to see but unfortunately, it’s part of the game.
Moving onto the more positive plays from Jameson Williams, we go to his best play of the day. Focusing on the play above, the Lions come out with their 21 personnel (two running backs and one tight end) and are aligned in an I-formation.
Aligned in the slot (top of the screen), you’ll see Williams. Once the ball is snapped, he releases upfield towards the safety that comes down to the box. As David Montgomery tries to find an opening, he bounces the run to the outside and fortunately for him, Williams helps seal the perimeter and this leads to him having a clear shot at running up the sideline for the touchdown.
In addition to Williams making a good block, there was a nice pull from Graham Glasgow (RG 60) to kick-out an inside linebacker. Meanwhile, Marvin Jones (WR 0) also had a great block on the perimeter as well. All of this helped create that opening for Montgomery. As for Williams, these types of blocks will lead to opportunities for him. This will earn him opportunities on both passing and running downs for the Lions offense.
Moving onto the next play, this isn’t so much about a reception or drop but more so about a missed opportunity. Looking at the play above, the Lions come out in another 2 x 2 and this time it’s on 4th and 3 from the Panthers 37-yard line. Aligned in the slot (top of the screen), you’ll see Williams (WR 9) highlighted.
Once the ball is snapped, you’ll see Goff get a wall of blockers to his left and in fact, he gets a clean shot to step up and go through his progressions. With this, you can tell that Goff is trying to act quickly and not make a mistake on a costly down and distance. All of that is understandable.
However, it’s a mistake made by Goff because as he quickly reads the field, he doesn’t take enough time looking to the middle of the field. If he did, I think we can all agree that he would have noticed Jameson Williams becoming wide open on the deep crosser.
Instead, Goff checks it down to the running back and it leads to a 4th down stop for the Panthers defense. The good news from this play is that the explosiveness and speed ran in Williams’ routes were evident on the play above. Eventually, this will hit and it would lead to more positives for the Lions offense.
Lastly, I want to focus on the lone reception that led to positive yardage for Williams. Earlier in the game, he had caught a designed screen that went for negative two yards. However, as we look at the play above, you’ll see that the Lions use pre-snap motion with Sam LaPorta (TE 87) to get aligned into a trips right formation.
Once the ball is snapped, you’ll see Goff deliver the ball to Williams on a designed screen. Not a play that moves the needle for most people but it’s worth noting that you can see some of the explosiveness that he has. Fortunately, the play above is a gain of four yards and it led to Williams having an official stat line of two receptions for two yards.
While that’s not a stat line to drool over, it’s a positive sign to see Williams trending towards having some type of role in the offense. Whether it be designed screens or deep crossers, it seems likely that he’ll get the ball more as the season progresses.
With injuries to Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs, the return of Jameson Williams is needed for this Lions offense. Many fans will focus on the negatives from Williams whenever he steps onto the field but try not to dwell on those mistakes. It’s a long season and if the fans want this to work, we need him to work. With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next on the schedule for the Lions, I’m expecting more snaps for the talented receiver and I think it’s a potential breakout game for him.
For the Lions 60 offensive snaps, Williams was on the field for 28 of those snaps. That number was the same as fellow wide receiver Josh Reynolds. No question, Reynolds had a much better stat line but the number of snaps for Williams in his season debut is a promising sign.