One Lions receiver thinks rookie Jameson Williams is a budding ‘superstar’
The Detroit Lions have not yet decided if Jameson Williams will make his NFL debut Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the excitement is building for Williams’ return.
Lions cornerback Jerry Jacobs called Williams’ playmaking ability “legit” after going against him in practice Thursday, and receiver DJ Chark predicted Williams will be a “superstar.”
“I think we’re all excited, man,” Chark said. “The excitement that you guys feel, that we feel is real. I definitely believe he’s a superstar, so anything I can do to help a guy like that, I’m here and he knows that.”
Asked why he believes Williams, the No. 12 pick in April’s draft, will be a superstar, Chark said it’s not just his speed.
“One thing about him that a lot of guys don’t have is the confidence, just the confidence in himself to go out there and make the play,” Chark said. “If you have that, that’s half the battle. If you believe you can make the play, you will make the play. And I feel like he has that and once we can get him acclimated into the system, now you got guys like Saint (Amon-Ra St. Brown), him, Leaf (Kalif Raymond), J-Rey (Josh Reynolds), me. Sky’s the limit.”
Williams took part in individual drills and one-on-ones in practice Wednesday and handled “a pretty good load of” scout-team reps Thursday.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said Williams, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last Jan. 10, “looked better (Thursday) than he did the day before and I anticipate he’ll look a little better today.”
On Monday, Campbell said Williams was a long shot to play against the Jaguars. Asked Friday if that remains the case, Campbell said, “Yeah, I mean, there again, I haven’t made a decision on that.”
“This was all about just getting his legs under him,” Campbell said.
The Lions (4-7) have six games left in the regular season and plan to work Williams into their offense as a vertical threat once he’s ready for game action.
Williams said he feels prepared enough to play Sunday, but won’t push coaches to get him on the field.
“I’m feeling good, feeling back to myself,” Williams told reporters Thursday. “I got a chance to get out there and get some routes, run some plays with the team, do a little bit, so I’m feeling really good right now.”
Williams said he has spent “a lot” of time discussing route concepts with Lions quarterback Jared Goff in recent weeks as he digests the offense, and coordinator Ben Johnson said he wants to see a chemistry between Williams and Goff before he’s ready to put the rookie on the field.
“I mean, shoot, (Wednesday) was the first time I think Jared’s thrown the ball to him, routes on air or competitive setting, so that takes time,” Johnson said. “It’s different than you acquire Josh Reynolds middle of the season, and instantly, that connection’s there. So we’re in a race to develop that as fast as we can, push that envelope, and that’s just time on task. That’s really all it is.”
Okudah, Jackson back from concussion protocol
The Lions are getting healthy, just in time for the stretch run.
The Lions ruled Julian Okwara and Evan Brown out for Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but did not give any other players game status designations on their Friday injury report.
Okwara suffered an elbow injury in last week’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, while Brown will miss his second straight game with a sprained ankle.
Jeff Okudah and Jonah Jackson will play Sunday after sitting out against the Bills with brain injuries, and rookie defensive end Josh Paschal is expected back after a two-game absence with a knee injury.
“I want to be careful saying (this is as healthy as we’ve been in a while), but the same token, it really is,” Campbell said. “(General manager Brad Holmes) and I talked about it early in the year, like, ‘I really feel like we’re going to take our lumps early here just with where everything’s going, but about the time that maybe some other teams are going through what we went through early we start getting healthy late in the season.’ So it is, it’s a good place to be at right now and hopefully it stays that way.”
The Lions dealt with significant injury problems early in the season.
Interior linemen Jackson, Frank Ragnow and Halapoulivaati Vaitai missed time with an assortment of injuries, safety Tracy Walker tore his Achilles tendon and offensive skill players Amon-Ra St. Brown, D’Andre Swift, DJ Chark and Josh Reynolds missed one or more games with injuries.
St. Brown, Swift, Chark and Reynolds were full participants in practice every day this week.
“I felt like training camp a couple of days ago cause I had so many guys out there,” receivers coach Antwaan Randle El joked.
Randle El said having a full compliment of skill players makes the Lions offense more dangerous. Chark has missed six games with ankle injuries this season, Reynolds played only eight snaps in November because of a back injury, Swift has battled shoulder and ankle injuries most of the season and St. Brown missed one game with a sprained ankle and most of another while in concussion protocol.
“You can call a game differently,” Randle El said. “Not that it’s bad when those — completely bad when those guys are out, it’s just you’ve got to call it differently and set it up differently. But it’s good to have them back cause you can tell, you can see the unity, the continuity.”
Jackson and Okudah were full participants in practice Friday after being limited while in concussion protocol Wednesday and Thursday. Paschal also was a full participant for the first time this week on Friday.
“We see him going,” Campbell said. “He’s had a good week.”