Jameson Williams missed two games on suspension and had two others with just one catch — for minus-4 yards.
But despite having no meaningful stats to speak of for almost a quarter of the Detroit Lions‘ season — he had 5 yards receiving combined in wins over the Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers (in November) and Tennessee Titans — Williams is on pace for the first 1,000-yard receiving season of his career and could get there as soon as Monday night’s game against the San Francisco 49ers.
“I’m aware of it,” Williams said Friday. “I ain’t trying to force it, though. We still got two games ahead of us, that’s the main priority, getting a team win. If it comes, it’s coming. It’s on my mind, of course, but it’s nothing to stress about.”
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With two games left, Williams ranks second on the Lions with 890 yards receiving on 47 catches.
He has the highest yards-per-catch average (18.9) among all NFL players with at least 30 receptions this season, and his evolution as a deep threat has helped give the Lions the league’s highest-scoring offense.
Williams is tied for the NFL lead with five catches of 50-plus yards this season, with four going for touchdowns. Last week, he caught a career-long 82-yard touchdown in the Lions’ 34-17 win over the Chicago Bears.
A first-round pick in 2022, Williams had one catch longer than 50 yards in 18 games over his first two seasons, when he and Lions quarterback Jared Goff rarely seemed to be on the same page on deep balls.
After 2½ years together, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said, something finally clicked with the duo in recent weeks.
“We struggled there that first year, when he got healthy, to truly get on the same page,” Johnson said. “As coaches we saw it, we saw the potential, and with Jared, he’s a timing, he’s a rhythm quarterback, he needs reps, just like the great ones do. I mean, he’s no different, and so it was just a matter of time and we knew it was going to click, and when it does click, man, what’s better than a two-play drive?
“That’s the potential that Jameson has to this offense and it’s a beautiful thing to see a post versus single-high like that. I know this, it does our offense wonders going into the end of the season here and into the postseason to put that type of stuff on tape.”
Williams torched the Bears for his long touchdown early in the second quarter of last week’s game, when he beat cornerback Tyrique Stevenson off the line of scrimmage and ran past safety Jonathan Owens.
Williams said Friday the play was designed to give Goff receiving options at three different levels; if Owens ran deep with Williams, it would have left Amon-Ra St. Brown open on a crossing route in the middle of the field. He said he didn’t think Goff was throwing his way “until I looked up and I seen the ball.”
“I probably (knew I was past Owens) when I stuck the vertical and started going towards the post,” Williams said. “I seen him kind of within the 5-yard range within me and I just got to keep running like I said cause if he don’t run with me it’s going to come up. But if he do run with me then it is going underneath. So it was big. I think it was a big play for us. It was early in the game. Set the tone for the offense and stuff like that.”
Williams was clocked at 20.9 mph on his touchdown, and said Friday he believes he can run the 40-yard dash —something he said he’s never done — in 4.1 seconds.
“‘Madden’ respect(s) me enough to (give me) 98 speed out the gate,” Williams said of the EA Sports video game. “That’s a 4.1. No, 40 and 98 speed? If I was a 99 it would be like a 3.9 or a 4.”
Whatever Williams’ speed, Johnson said there’s no limit to what Williams can accomplish on the field.
He could top 1,000 yards on the fewest catches since former Los Angeles Chargers receiver Mike Williams reached the mark on 49 catches in 2019, and with a full season, he and St. Brown could make a case for being the most dangerous receiving duo in the NFL.
“I’m not a perfect player,” Jameson Williams said. “I’m not the best player right now, but I feel like I’m explosive and I’m eye-catching. But I got to work on everything just so I can be the best ’cause at the end of the day that’s all I work for and that’s what I want to do for the name on the back of my jersey, everybody who got the same last name, all my family, I just want to prove to them that I’m the best and just keep working. No matter even if you at the top, if one of the top dogs, you still got to work ’cause there’s people that’s trying to get to your spot and just be where you at. I would say I got to work on everything.”
Dave Birkett is the author of the new book, “Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline.”
Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
The Detroit Lions just added some serious speed to their roster with wide receiver Jameson Williams boasting a lightning-fast 4.1 40-yard dash time. This impressive speedster is sure to be a game-changer on the field and a nightmare for defenders trying to keep up with him. Get ready for some electrifying plays from Williams as he blazes past the competition and leaves them in his dust. Lions fans, get ready to witness greatness in action with Jameson Williams leading the charge down the field. #SpeedKills #DetroitLions #JamesonWilliams
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