Asked on Friday what he expected from wide receiver Jameson Williams in the 2025 NFL season, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell had plenty to say.
“He’s got a ton of growth left,” Campbell said of Williams. “He’s had a good spring, and I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves in OTAs, but there’s so much versatility with him. There’s so many things we can do just with his routes on the outside. I mean, we can do things inside, but just with his speed, and he’s gotten so much stronger, his ability to stop, put his foot in the ground -- when you can run like he can run and now you’re beginning to get to where you can stop on a dime, you talk about a hard cover, so the sky’s the limit for him.
“He’s exactly where we want him to be right now at this point. He’s been here, he’s grinding, he’s getting better. He’s freaking grinding, and it’s awesome. We expect him to have a huge season. We really do, man. He’s going to be one of these guys that we’re going to lean on this year and is really going to be big for us. All he’s got to do is keep working like he’s working, and we’ll be good.”
Also speaking on Friday, Williams said he didn’t feel any different in 2025.
“I’m still the same person,” Williams said. “You know, I just go about a lot of things differently.”
But the former Alabama All-American did realize he had matured during his three seasons in the NFL.
“I would just say I just got older,” Williams said. “I’ve seen how things move and figured out how to move with things. You know, you just can’t put football first all the time. It’s other things that go with it and go together, come together and make the whole football aspect better. So, you know, that’s why I figured out growing up, just getting older and maturing myself, talking to more people, opening up to more people, getting more advice from everybody, and that just helped me a lot.”
Williams had 58 receptions for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns in the 2024 season, so it’s not as though he hasn’t already had a breakout showing.
“I guess just going into Year 4, I got a little pep in my step,” Williams said about the coach’s expectations for 2025. “I’m becoming a vet, moving over from the rookie stage, and I’m just ready to play more football and be more consistent for my team. …
“I just expect myself to go out there and make the plays when my name’s called. Nothing spectacular, you know, help the team win games and get back to where we was at.”
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The season before Williams joined the team as the 12th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Detroit had a 3-13-1 record. In Williams’ rookie season, the Lions went 9-8. In 2023, Detroit followed a 12-5 regular season by reaching the NFC Championship Game for the first time since the 1991 campaign.
The Lions came up one victory short of the Super Bowl as the San Francisco 49ers posted a 34-31 victory on Jan. 28, 2024. But Detroit came back with an even better regular-season record in 2024 at 15-2. However, the postseason didn’t go as well. After earning a first-round bye, the Lions lost to the Washington Commanders 45-31 on Jan. 18.
“It makes us real hungry,” Williams said. “I think people really don’t realize how bad it is until you get to that game where you’re one game away from the Super Bowl. You know, that was the one that hurt us the most -- well, hurt me the most. I felt more hurt losing to San Fran than I did to the Commanders because it was just one game away. It was one play away.
“I guess, you know, we got a chip on our shoulder. Everybody remember it. But we’re not dwelling on it. You know, we got a long season ahead of us. We got big games this season. Kind of really moved on from the past, but it’s still there just for that little chip of fire we need to go forward.”
Detroit is entering the final week of its offseason program. The Lions will become the first team to break for the summer after their practice on Thursday. Detroit also will be one of the first teams to report for training camp. The Lions kick off the NFL’s preseason schedule against the Los Angeles Chargers on July 31 in the Hall of Fame Game.
