Speedy Lions WR Faces ‘Crucial’ Season After Rocky Start to Career

After two years of turbulence, Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams had a strong finish to his 2023 season.

Now, the speedy wide receiver faces a “crucial” upcoming season as he tries to build on the successes of the last season and justify the No. 12 overall pick the Lions spent on him, an insider says. The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy wrote that Williams will be under pressure to prove himself and take on a bigger role for a Lions offense that saw some changes in the offseason.

Lions Will Rely on Jameson Williams

Pouncy noted that Williams is slated as the No. 2 receiver for the Lions behind Amon-Ra St. Brown for the upcoming season, putting pressure on him to succeed.

“This is a crucial year for Williams,” Pouncy wrote. “It’s his third season, and he’s finally past the torn ACL and gambling suspension that slowed him his first two years. With Josh Reynolds off to Denver, Williams needs to be ready. The Lions are counting on him.”

Williams had a difficult start to his NFL career, missing the first half of his rookie season while rehabbing a torn ACL. Williams appeared in six games in 2022 but had a light role on offense, being targeted just nine times all season. The speedy receiver recorded just one catch on the season but made the most of it, taking it for a 41-yard touchdown.

Williams was suspended the following offseason for violating the league’s rules against gambling, missing the first four games of the season and starting slow after that. He made just 13 total catches through his first nine games of the season, but finished strong with 11 total catches over his final three games.

His role continued to grow in the playoffs, with Williams scoring two touchdowns in the NFC Championship game.

Williams appears ready for the challenge of the upcoming season, saying he has grown a lot since entering the league.

“Personal level, I think I’ve matured a lot more,” Williams told reporters on Thursday, via SI.com. “Coming into the league, I still had some little childish ways. Wanted to do what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. But sometimes you’ve got to listen and get on the right track and follow the right path. It’ll lead you down the right way in just a second.”

Lions Receiver Off to a Good Start

While the team is still weeks away from kicking off training camp, Williams made the most of the spring practices. Speaking to reporters after practice on May 23, Lions head coach Dan Campbell said the former Alabama receiver showed tremendous improvement.

“We started this thing back in April, and you’ve got Phase One for a couple weeks,” Campbell said, via SI.com. “Then we’ve been on the grass for three weeks in Phase Two, which has been routes on air and fundamentals and individual and doing all this. And then we’re two practices in and if you said, ‘Give me one player that is the most improved from start to finish in that time,’ Jamo would be that guy right now. He is a ma