It's taken way too long, but Jameson Williams appears to have gotten back into the groove with the Detroit Lions. Starting the year was anything but smooth for the fourth-year player. In his first seven games, he recorded just 289 yards receiving and two touchdowns. 108 of those yards, and one touchdown, came from a single game. Meaning that he had just 181 yards and one touchdown across six games.
Truly awful stats. Yet, after offensive coordinator John Morton said he was going to find a way to go to Williams more, that appears to have actually happened. Ever since Morton made the statement, Williams has seemingly come back to life. While his first two years in the league were far from promising, Williams showed that he can be a big player with the Lions in 2024, hitting 1,000 yards receiving. Many thought his 2024 was a fluke, and the first half of the season all but confirmed that.
Now, however, Williams is looking like he's back to his peak. Making Morton's desire to work Williams into more plays is a move that's paying off. In just his last two games, Williams has put up 185 yards receiving and two touchdowns. That's 39% of his total yards production for the season in just two games. In that same stretch, he's also posted two touchdowns, which equals his total tally for the season prior to that.
Jameson Williams Will Play a Big Role for the Lions for the Remainder of the Season
With Williams again showing an ability to impact the game, the Lions are looking like an unstoppable offense. It's obvious Amon-Ra St. Brown is one of the best receivers in the game, but couple both Williams and St. Brown, with the dynamic duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery at running back, plus the dynamic play of Jared Goff under center; not to mention tight end Sam LaPorta, and it's pretty clear the offense won't be an easy out the rest of the way.
That said, if Williams does take a step back again and his production falls off, the offense isn't so perfect that his lack of impact won't dramatically impact the team. St. Brown and LaPorta are carrying the passing attack otherwise, and the team can't just run over everyone on the ground. They have to have a perfectly blended offense that attacks both in the air and on the ground.
Doing just one or the other limits the dynamic aspects of the Lions' offense. It limits what the team can do in a given drive, which allows defenses to better prep and prepare for them. An engaged Williams makes defenses rethink what may happen, and that's an added edge the Lions can't afford to give up.