Earlier this week, Detroit head coach Dan Campbell said it would be a tall order for rookie receiver Jameson Williams to make his debut against the Jaguars this week.
But as he comes off a torn ACL suffered in the national championship game, Williams has been practicing. And the young wideout has been impressing his quarterback — particularly with his speed.
“He’s fast,” Jared Goff said in his Wednesday press conference. “He’s very fast. He’s very, very fast.”
Goff was asked if he’s played with someone before who Williams’ speed compares to and Goff brought up Brandin Cooks. Cooks and Goff played together on the Rams in 2018 and 2019.
“I mean Brandin Cooks is probably the fastest guy I’ve played with, and it’s a different type of speed though, and again, I haven’t seen him play in a real game, but [Williams is] longer,” Goff said. “He’s a stride guy. He’s got length. He’s got wingspan. Brandin was more just kind of a burner and has done that well for a long time, but Jameson, he can extend on guys. He can really make catches away from his body, that type of stuff. And how much he’s able to help us in the next six games, we’ll see, but certainly as a quarterback, you want him on the field as soon as possible.”
Goff added that he’s not sure how much of an adjustment period there will be when it comes to timing with a receiver as fast as Williams.
“It depends on what routes he’s running and how much we’re using him, but yeah, we’ll see,” Goff said. “It’s like that with any player. It has nothing to do with how fast he is, but any guy you want to get those reps, and we got some today, which is always helpful and trying to start getting on the same page, and hopefully get him incorporated soon.”
The Lions enter Week 13 No. 8 in points scored and No. 8 in total yards. Whenever Williams is ready to contribute, he should only add to what has been a solid offense in 2022.
