Antwione

Williams

With DeAndre Levy doubtful with a quad injury, the Lions are down to Williams or Thurston Armbrister, who was claimed off waivers less than two weeks ago. It is not a great situation, especially with the Titans’ “exotic” offense coming to town. Delanie Walker should bounce back this week.

Caldwell added Williams has the “size and bulk and speed” and is “getting better in terms of understanding conceptually what we’re trying to get done from a defensive standpoint.” The Lions have revamped their linebacking corps this offseason, but first-rounder Jarrad Davis, last year’s middle linebacker Tahir Whitehead, fourth-rounder Jalen Reeves-Maybin, and free-agent signing Paul Worrilow are all expected to compete for jobs at middle linebacker and on the weak side, which could leave the strong-side job to Williams. Detroit will need to get more out of their linebackers this season to take a step forward on defense.

He was competing with Brandon Copeland for the gig, but Copeland suffered a torn pec in the preseason opener. Williams was the subject of some spring fluff, with coach Jim Caldwell saying the “arrow is pointing up” on last year’s fifth-rounder. As the SAM, Williams won’t be an every-down player.

Williams was a fifth-round pick in 2016 and played 204 snaps as a rookie. In the wake of the Brandon Copeland injury and DeAndre Levy release, Williams was expected to start for the Lions. Veteran Paul Worrilow may have won the job as the strong-side linebacker, pushing Williams off the team.

Coach Jim Caldwell said “the arrow is pointing up” for Williams before minicamp, and he apparently kept it going throughout the rest of the offseason program. A fifth-round sophomore, Williams currently appears stuck behind first-rounder Jarrad Davis, Tahir Whitehead, and Paul Worrilow on the depth chart, but he may end up being the best option on the strong side if he continues to shine in training camp.

Williams was apparently arrested in May. A 2017 practice squadder, Williams was already up against it to crack the 53-man roster. This won’t help.

Williams (6'3/240) made 31 starts at Georgia Southern, amassing 20.5 career tackles for loss, seven sacks, and six forced fumbles. He was an honorable mention All-Sun Belt pick as both a junior and senior. Williams needed big pre-draft workouts to put himself more on the NFL map, but came up short with a 4.80 forty and 9-foot-10 broad jump at the Eagles’ Pro Day. As an average to slightly above-average athlete whose lower-level college production failed to stand out, Williams has a sketchy NFL outlook.