In a blowout 40-14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, all eyes were on Detroit Lions first-round pick, Jameson Williams.
Williams, who was activated from the Reserve/Non-football injury list just a day prior, made his Lions debut against Jacksonville. The rookie wide receiver tore his ACL in the NCAA championship game and Detroit’s coaching staff stayed patient with his return.
.@Lions rookie WR Jameson Williams is officially active today. 👀 @bigsgjamo
📺: #JAXvsDET — 1pm ET on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/v9GIqgWgnD pic.twitter.com/9m5s6PClLr— NFL (@NFL) December 4, 2022
The Lions foreshadowed how Williams’ first game as a pro would go with how they have used other receivers in their first games back from injury. DJ Chark and Josh Reynolds were both on snap counts as they eased back into their starting roles. For Williams, who has just two weeks of practice time logged with the Lions, a pitch count was necessary.
Williams took a mere six snaps on offense throughout the game, most of which came on run plays. While that may not be the most exciting use for him, he did find a way to assist the offense on those snaps.
Instead of being used as a run blocker, Williams took advantage of the space given to him by the Jaguars defensive backs and tricked them into covering him while the running backs carried the ball. His reputation from his days at Alabama followed him to the league and benefitted the run game by taking defenders away from the play.
Williams was targeted once by quarterback Jared Goff but the ball was underthrown. Despite the very loud chants of “We want Jamo” coming from the crowd at Ford Field, the coaching staff stuck to their guns and limited the rookie in his first bout of NFL action.
Several of the other members of Detroit’s 2022 draft class had their share of successes against Jacksonville.
First-round pick, Aidan Hutchinson, who was recently named Defensive Rookie of the Month for November, put on a show that could put him into that Rookie of the Year consideration.
While his name won’t appear much in the box score, Hutchinson applied pressure all day against Jacksonville’s line and was a big reason for their offensive struggles. He capped a solid performance by combining with Benito Jones for a sack in the fourth quarter.
🗣 AIDAN HUTCHINSON AND BENITO JONES GOT HIM 🗣#JAXvsDET 📺 FOX #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/pjtVJz93a3
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 4, 2022
Fellow rookie defensive lineman Josh Paschal was also eased back into play after dealing with injuries over the past few weeks. He finished the day with just one tackle.
Third-round pick Kerby Joseph led the team in tackles with eight. Starting at free safety, he did a great job at shutting down the deep middle zone of the field and forcing short passes from Trevor Lawrence.
Linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez got the start at inside linebacker and while he didn’t make any flashy plays, he was consistent against both the run and the pass. Rodriguez logged three tackles against the Jaguars.
Edge defender James Houston impressed once again. Houston helped filled the void at the pass-rushing linebacker role left after Julian Okwara was placed on injured reserve. While he didn’t start there, the rookie quickly showed he is the best option at that position.
Lions rookie James Houston (6th round; No. 217) recorded two sacks against Josh Allen and the Bills in his NFL debut. In his second game, he picked up another sack on this move: pic.twitter.com/HO2DTHIL5B
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) December 4, 2022
In just his second game as an NFL player, Houston recorded his third career sack and was dangerously close to getting a fourth. At the end of the first half, Houston used a bend technique to get around the left tackle and take down Trevor Lawrence. While his usage on defense was still limited, the sixth-round draft pick is proving he can be a capable pass rusher in the league.
Rookies James Mitchell and Chase Lucas both appeared in the game on special teams and made very little impact overall. Both have had flashes of potential throughout the season but still need more time to develop.
