The Detroit Lions made a big move in the 2022 NFL Draft when they traded up to the 12th pick to get receiver Jameson Williams. Right away it was known that Williams would have a setback immediately. He was coming off an ACL injury he had just suffered in the National Championship game just a few months earlier.
Then Williams got healthy and showed some things that were really exciting and the expectations were that 2023 would be the year for him. Then he got suspended for violating the leagues gambling policy. Then he hurt his hamstring in camp and had to miss time. It was just setback after setback.
You would think that a team would get really annoyed by the setbacks or that they would turn a team off to the point where they feel like they made a mistake. That's not what happened in Detroit. The Lions actually looked at it as if it were a good thing.
"It happens in life often is that you think you're encountering a setback, and it ends up being a blessing in disguise a little bit." Lions GM Brad Holmes said. "And I think those first two years, you know, obviously we knew that he was going to be recovering from his injury that first year, so we knew that. But then he had another hurdle, you know, the second year, but those two years he showed tremendous growth. Showed tremendous growth as a person and a player, and so I see it as that's actually, it's been a good thing because now he's out there and he's, you see the maturation in his game, and it just been a joy to see this year's growth as a person."
There were questions about Jameson Williams as a person early on that came from fans or media personalities. Some were dumb and others had some merit. Particularly there were some worries that Williams might be a little immature and that makes some sense since he was just a young kid when he got here. Most 21-year-olds are just like that.
It might sound bad to think that setbacks are a good thing, but even I can tell you, from a media standpoint, that I see a different player and different man out there too. Williams has really stepped up to the plate and you can see he takes this very seriously.
That doesn't mean you won't see that same fun loving guy with the infectious smile and bubbly personality, but it does mean he might be doing a lot of stuff that's going to warrant some smiles this year.
