ALLEN PARK -- Jameson Williams has made quite the impression on some of the team’s new assistant coaches and coordinators, not to mention his new position coach with the Detroit Lions.
Scottie Montgomery, who is making the transition from running backs to wide receivers coach, said the path forward has already started. When Montgomery came back to the building after the time away, he said Williams was already in the mix and back at work.
Williams, who is fresh off his first 1,000-yard season, has been impressing his coaches with the growth shown in meetings and the film room.
“I didn’t have to call him. Once I got the job, he knew exactly what it was,” Montgomery said on Tuesday from Allen Park. “He just came up just to say hello to me because he knew what we needed to get done. And then now, two days ago ... probably one of the better meetings I’ve ever seen him in in a setting. It was a total offensive meeting where you talk about the communication level and the questions and the football IQ and the acumen that he was asking questions about, is what you really wanted to see and that’s what we got to do.
“He keeps developing the way he’s at, the way he’s doing right now, he’s going to get to a location that he really, really likes. Really satisfied with where he is right now, but we got a long way to go.”
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Williams caught 58 passes for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns while playing a career-high 15 games last season. He delivered on his first-round potential, with his game-breaking speed translating to one of the game’s top big-play threats.
The 23-year-old was second in the NFL with a 17.3-yard per catch average, trailing only Indianapolis Colts receiver Alec Pierce. Pierce had 21 fewer catches and targets than Williams, for those counting at home.
Montgomery added that Williams has remained on an upward trajectory. He wants to see that consistency continue to grow, and it’s more about attitude than yardage, and he’s seeing that already.
John Morton, the team’s new offensive coordinator, was here during Williams’ rookie season while he was rehabbing from his torn ACL suffered while at Alabama. But it’s a whole new world, and Morton has very high expectations now that they’ve worked together again.
“Unbelievable. Just unbelievable,” Morton said. “When I first got here, he came in to see me. We had a chat, and I was painting the picture. ‘This is what you need to do; this is how I see it,’ and he was unbelievable. Unbelievable.
“In the meetings, the attention to detail, I mean, I’m so excited to see him this year. It’s going to be a breakout year for him. So, I can’t wait, I just can’t wait, man.”
Morton was about to say he’s never been around a player so explosive before, but then he stopped and put Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs in the same category. Talk about an exciting situation for a new offensive coordinator to walk into, right?
“The explosion,” Morton said. “I mean, I was around (former NFL running back) Reggie Bush.
“That explosion, it’s impressive, those two guys.”
Williams has two years left on his rookie contract after having his fifth-year option picked up earlier this month. There was rumor and innuendo surrounding his name this offseason, but Lions general manager Brad Holmes said trading the wide receiver was never a thought.
“That’s something we have never entertained. I don’t know where that report came from,” Holmes said during the draft. “But that’s not a conversation that me and Dan (Campbell) has ever had.
“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.”