Detroit Lions adding to wide receiver room is a much-needed change

The Detroit Lions 2022 NFL draft class has been officially pieced together. They have added some much-needed players in positions where things were looking pretty bleak. When the team opted to trade up in the first round, they targeted a wide receiver.

Using the pick, the Detroit Lions acquired in the blockbuster Matthew Stafford trade to trade up with the Minnesota Vikings. In doing so, they were able to scoop up wide receiver Jameson Williams with the 12th overall pick in the draft.

It was a move that was not 100% expected or predicted, but after the team’s proposal for San Francisco 49ers standout Deebo Samuel, the Lions’ front office opted to do something. In this case, it was trading up to get Williams.

There’s reason to be excited about it, especially since this team desperately needs another wide receiver to break out. After last season, the expectation is that Amon-Ra St. Brown can come into his own in 2022 and be paired well with Quintez Cephus.

Adding Williams into that mix makes it even more exciting.

Jameson Williams is a much-needed addition to the Detroit Lions.

At times, the Lions’ wide receiver group has been quite thin. With injuries taking down some of the team’s top receivers and an already weak group to begin with, the depth chart ran out of names quickly.

Adding in Williams will take away some pressure and hopefully add some spectacular skill as he gets his career started. Williams was a two-year member of the dreaded Ohio State Buckeyes but spent the 2021 season with the Alabama Crimson Tide.

He would play in 15 games for the Tide, where he tallied 79 receptions for 1,572 yards on the season with 15 touchdowns for Nick Saban’s offense down in Alabama. He averaged nearly 20 yards per catch and was the best in several categories amongst players in the SEC.

The drawback with Williams that let him slip down the draft order was that he tore his ACL during the National Championship game. Instead of it being a major setback, Williams has taken the chance to battle this adversity headstrong.

Clips of him getting back out there and rehabbing have surfaced and made it look like Williams is out there busting his butt to ensure he can get on the field for the Lions as soon as possible. But the fact that the Lions were able to scoop him up speaks to how the team valued him.

The statistics show a lot, but the consensus is that Williams’s tools and skills will be legit. Needless to say, it seems like the addition of Williams to the Lions’ wide receiver room is going to be extremely positive.