Tyrell Williams relishes being a ‘deep-threat’
With the decision to let receivers Marvin Jones Jr. and Kenny Golladay walk in free agency, the new Detroit Lions front office has seemingly fully committed to building the offense from the ground up.
There’s promise at running back in the form of D’Andre Swift. At quarterback, the Lions are taking a chance on Jared Goff with the hopes of reviving his career.
And while the likely departures of Jones and Golladay leave the Lions with very little depth at wide receiver, new free-agent signee Tyrell Williams will certainly help.
Williams comes to Detroit on a one-year deal with a base salary of $4.7 million. He’s heading into the seventh season of his career and his first on the NFC side, after four with the Los Angeles Chargers and two with the Las Vegas Raiders. He did, however, miss all of 2020 with a shoulder injury.
In 69 career games, Williams has caught 197 passes for 3,181 yards and 23 touchdowns. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Western Oregon in 2015.
In his first media appearance with the Lions, Williams said part of his decision to come to Detroit
was influenced by the presence of new head coach Dan Campbell.
“A guy who has that much energy and is that excited and loves football that much, it’s gonna be awesome to be around that energy every day,” Williams said. “The season can be long when you get into those week 14, 16 (games), so having a guy like that who keeps you motivated, keeps you energized, is gonna be awesome.”
With the addition of Williams, the Lions now have just five options at wide receiver, two of which in Victor Bolden and Tom Kennedy are on futures contracts. Just Williams, 2020 fifth-rounder Quintez Cephus and Geronimo Allison are on the 53-man roster at the position.
How he fits the offense
With the loss of Jones and Golladay, the Lions lack a downfield threat. Offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, who is familiar with Williams from his
days as head coach of the Chargers, likes to employ a vertical passing game.
This is where Williams comes into play, as he wants to be the “deep threat.”
“I love being able to stretch the field,” Williams said. “I love being that deep-threat guy.”
Williams will likely be among the starters at the position, whether that be alongside Cephus, another free agent addition or a 2021 draft choice. With this responsibility comes a requirement of versatility, something that Williams believes he can bring to the table.
“One of the big reasons I wanted to come here is that they see me as a guy who can run the whole route tree,” Williams said. “And run the intermediate stuff, the crossing routes, all that stuff.”
Goff doesn’t have the strongest arm, meaning that Williams won’t likely get many opportunities to catch deep balls. However, at 6-foot-4, Williams is physical enough to make contested catches.
He’s an asset that will certainly help a Lions offense that will certainly miss its departed pieces.
“I’ve watched him play obviously since he came in,” Williams said of Goff. “He’s been an awesome quarterback since he came in.”
Close to full health
After suffering a torn labrum in his right shoulder, Williams missed all of the 2020 season. Now, after signing with the Lions, he believes he’s around “95 percent” healthy.
“All the way back to when I first started playing, I never missed a season,” Williams said. “So, it was tough to have to sit back and watch all year.”
Aside from missing all of 2020, Williams has missed 11 total games in the other five seasons of his career. He played in just seven games as a rookie in 2015, while missing two games in 2019, after stringing three consecutive seasons together without a missed game.
Williams was released by the Raiders on Feb. 24, after signing a four-year, $44 million contract in 2019. He signed with the Lions on March 9.