It has to be said right from the top: the Detroit Lions remain very happy with rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams. Don’t misconstrue anything offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said about “Jamo” on Thursday as not being happy with the rookie.
But Williams hasn’t made much of an impact on the stat sheet in his first few NFL games. Williams has one reception, a touchdown against the Vikings, and a 40-yard run against the Bears, in five weeks. He’s dropped two passes from QB Jared Goff as well, and the duo just doesn’t seem in sync.
Johnson admitted in his weekly meeting with the press that he thought Williams would have produced a little more already.
“Yeah, I mean it’s – each week we’re trying to push the envelope a little bit and maybe learn a couple of different routes that he hasn’t been taught yet or put him a little different spot,” Johnson said of Williams. “So, yeah each week we’re trying to do that and it’s just how fast can we get him along, feeling comfortable with it and it’s been – I hoped it would click just a little bit faster than it has, I think we all have.
But that’s – it takes time sometimes and we’re not losing faith; we’re going to keep pressing it and it’ll end up clicking. At some point, he’ll have a big game and be like, ‘OK, that’s why. That’s why we took him where we took him.’ And that’s why he can help us so much.”
The lack of any offseason practice work for Williams as he recovered from his ACL tear and surgery last January is evident. Williams and Goff are trying to catch up on the fly as the Lions also continue to push for a postseason berth.
Johnson is not worried about the two dropped passes by Williams and explained why,
“Yeah, I think the first one we threw to him was a little bit behind. Jared (Goff) I think, wishes he had gotten it just a little bit further out in front. But no, for us, we still labeled it as a drop because anytime it touches one of our pass catchers’ hands, we have high standards in them. So, I know Jamo wishes he would have caught it and then Jared needs to put that ball out in front so it’s a two-way street there, but no, we really don’t have concerns with drops or anything.”
