Jameson Williams emerged as a true second option at receiver for the Detroit Lions outside of Amon-Ra St. Brown last season. Despite missing two games due to suspension, Williams recorded his first 1,000-yard receiving season, catching 58 passes for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns.
A torn ACL and suspension limited Williams during his first two NFL seasons, but he was finally able to break out in his third year. His speed and versatility adds another level to the Lions' offense schematically, as well as makes him a particularly tough player to defend.
Lions coach Dan Campbell was excited speaking about Williams during OTAs, and stated that they are expecting a big year from him in 2025.
"He's got a ton of growth left," Campbell said of Williams. "He's had a good spring, and I don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves in OTAs, but there's so much versatility with him. There's so many things we can do just with his routes on the outside. I mean we can do things inside, but just with his speed, and he's gotten so much stronger, his ability to stop, put his foot in the ground -- when you can run like he can run and now you get to where you can stop on a dime, you talk about a hard cover. … We expect him to have a huge season. We really do, man. He's going to be one of these guys that we're going to lean on this year and is really going to be big for us."
St. Brown has been the Lions' go-to receiver over the last four years, and though that is not expected to change, Williams proved in 2024 he can be counted on as well. With an offensive coordinator change and tough schedule ahead, having Williams continue to take steps forward could be one major key for the Lions to remain one of the NFC's top teams.
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