FAMILIAR RECEPTION
Ex-Lion Hockenson ‘can’t wait’ to face old team after trade Williams, Houston are the bonus babies the Lions need right now
Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson was joking with teammate David Blough before his return to Ford Field this week that the two ex-Detroit Lions might stumble into the wrong locker room by accident.
“It’s going to be fun going over there, seeing everybody and then doing our thing,” Hockenson told Minnesota reporters Thursday. “Yeah, I can’t wait, honestly.”
A first-round pick by the Lions in 2019, Hockenson will play his first game in Detroit as a visitor Sunday when the Lions (5-7) host the Vikings (10-2) in a battle of NFC playoff contenders.
The Lions traded Hockenson to the Vikings in November for a swap of draft picks at a time when they seemed to be playing out the string on the season. They were 1-6 at the time and riding a five-game losing streak, and Hockenson said he welcomed a fresh start with his one-time division rival.
“That’s really what we’re here to do is go somewhere and win some games,” Hockenson
The chant echoed through Ford Field: “We want Jamo!”
It was late in the second half of the Detroit Lions’40-14 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars and fans were begging to see more of Jameson Williams, the wide receiver from Alabama making his NFL debut.
“We want Jamo!”
Fans wanted to see something — anything. A bomb down the sideline. A little jet sweep. Or even a little action as a gunner on a punt would have worked — at least for some.
“We want Jamo!”
Williams had never heard anything like it. “That was good,” he said on Thursday, standing by his locker in the Lions facility. “I never got that in college. I mean, I’m in the league now. That was crazy.”
Williams played sparingly and didn’t even get a catch. The Lions just wanted him to get a taste of the NFL. To get his legs under him, as coach Dan Campbell said.
Williams didn’t get to acclimate like most rookies at minicamp while recovering from knee surgery. He didn’t practice during training camp either. So he’s still a work in progress, still developing a chemistry with quarterback Jared Goff, still in training-camp mode.
But Williams has something special — speed to burn. He’s a rocket ship just waiting to be launched.
But the Lions are trying to bring him along slowly, which makes perfect sense.
Just like what they are doing with edge rusher James Houston.
Houston’s hot pursuit
After just two games, Houston has shown an uncommon ability to get after the quarterback.
Against Jacksonville, he popped around left tackle Cam Robinson — OK, maybe, it was more like a hop, or a skip, or something funky from “Dancing with the Stars.” Then, he started to bend, hovering near the ground and shooting around the corner like he had jumped on a surfboard, riding a wave right into Trevor Lawrence for the sack.
What would you name that sack?
“The problem,” deadpanned defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.
It seemed so different, yet effective, but it’s a move he actually practices. “Everybody’s different,” Glenn said. “Everybody has ways to get to the quarterback. I’ve seen it done a ton of different ways. If you can get there, do what you have to do to get there. And that move that he had, I don’t know if anybody’s ever replicated that, but he got there. So, all good.”
Houston has played in two games for the Lions and has three sacks. This is why they drafted him in Round 6 this year out of Jackson State, where he had 161⁄2 sacks.
“Good athlete that can get to the quarterback,” Glenn said. “I don’t care where they come from. That doesn’t matter. If you have a trait that we can utilize and we can develop, come play for us.”
That seems to be a theme for the Lions rebuild: find special talents.
Houston is not a prototypical edge rusher. He is 6 feet 1 and 241 pounds. But that’s nearly the same size as Indianapolis Colts defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, who has 64 sacks in a seven-year career.
For this coaching staff, the trick is putting
Houston in a position to do damage while trying to limiting his exposure until he knows the defense.
“You take Yannick (Ngakoue) for one, same player, you just have to really understand how to utilize him,” Glenn said. “That just comes from — what’s your scheme? What are you willing to change to have that player be a part of what you’re doing? Some teams might go to a 3-4 scheme because of who he is. But you don’t have to totally do that. You can run a 4-3 with 3-4 principles, that’s basically what we do for the most part to be honest with you.”
Ford Field’s bonus babies
Nobody is putting either Williams or Houston into the Hall of Fame.
But it’s encouraging how the Lions seem to be finding players with special talents. And it applies to both Williams and Houston. Neither one is a finished product — and we don’t even know the ceiling for either one of them — but that doesn’t matter. Because their potential seems special.
Right now, Houston has one job with simple orders: Go get the quarterback, kid.
He has so much more to learn: “A total understanding of our defense,” Glenn said. “Total, base defense, third down defense, short-yardage. Like all those things, he’s going to have to get better at and he knows that. He knows that. And that’s why we’re utilizing the way that we’re using him. And again we’re going to make sure that we protect that player and not just throw him into different situations, so he can lose his confidence. Right now, he’s riding high with his confidence and we’re going to continue to use him that way.”
Williams is in a similar place. Shoot, the Lions have even talked about using him on special teams as a gunner, just to get him on the field.
Which is fine with him.
“I love football,” Williams said. “Just get out there.”
True, but he can bring something different to the offense. The Lions are one of the most explosive teams in the NFL. They have 51 plays of 20-yards or more, which is tied with sixth most in the NFL. It’s an offense with 43 passes of 20 yards or more, which is tied for fifth.
And you are adding another speed weapon to that? Somebody who, at the very least, can take the top off the defense? Amazing.
“We got a great offense,” Williams said. “You see we put up 40 points? We’ve been more consistent this whole year. We had a lot of great scoring games, a lot of great games on the offensive side of the ball. Being able to watch that, it’s just great knowing that my talent is going to be added to that soon. It’s going to be something that is real exciting to watch.”
Williams and Houston are only going to get better. But they can help them win now. They are like bonus babies, added at just the right time, just as this team is pushing for the playoffs.
“I just want to win and make the playoffs,” Williams said. “We got a chance.”
It’s like getting an extra boost.
Just when they could use it the most.