Allen Park — Among every player who’s spent time with the Detroit Lions since coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes were hired in 2021, few, if any, have enjoyed more growth than Jameson Williams, who went from catching a single pass in his first season to becoming one of only 10 receivers in the NFL to have at least 1,000 yards in each of the last two campaigns.
Williams, 25, has developed into one of the league’s best by placing a heightened focus on the game’s finer intricacies. His route tree has expanded since he was drafted 12th overall in 2022, and his rapport with quarterback Jared Goff has grown tremendously. Williams was targeted on 1.5% of Detroit’s passing attempts as a rookie. That share climbed to 6.9% in 2023, 16.5% in 2024 and 17.5% in 2025. The team has rewarded the receiver’s efforts with more opportunity, and Williams has repaid the Lions by producing at a high level.
Next up for Williams is improving his hands, which has been an emphasis this offseason.
“That was my main thing, catching,” Williams said last week at OTAs. “I wanted to get better at catching.”
Despite his production and obvious value as a field-stretcher, Williams in 2025 struggled with drops. Pro Football Reference tracked a league-worst 12 drops for the dynamic piece, whose drop percentage (11.8%) was in the bottom three among qualified receivers. Pro Football Focus only gave Williams nine drops, but that still paced all players, tied with Cleveland’s Jerry Jeudy and the Los Angeles Rams’ Davante Adams.
Williams said his drops can be ascribed to “a mind thing,” more to do with momentary lapses in focus than any overarching physical limitations. He’s taken “a lot” of mental reps this offseason, he said. Williams had two drops apiece in 2024 and 2022, as well as five in 2023, according to PFF. His breakout season at Alabama — 1,572 yards and 15 touchdowns — included six drops.
One coach who especially hopes Williams can leave any drop-related issues in the past is new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. The Arizona Cardinals weren’t the NFL’s most explosive passing offense in Petzing’s three seasons calling plays, but they did rank in the top five for yards after the catch in 2025 (2,195), as Petzing helped scheme up looks to get tight end Trey McBride and receiver Michael Wilson, among others, open in space.
Williams had more yards after the catch last season (447) than all but nine other receivers, and one of them (Amon-Ra St. Brown, 591) was his teammate. The Lions have been a top-six team in yards after the catch every year since 2022, playing to Goff’s strengths as a decisive thrower over the middle of the field.
More consistently corralling Goff’s targets should lead to even bigger numbers for Williams.
“I love the way he’s prepping us, and the way we’re coming out and executing,” Williams said of Petzing, his third coordinator in as many seasons. “We’ve had a great two weeks, three weeks so far. Everything is looking good so far, so we’ve just got to keep building, staying on top of our game and getting better every day.”
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Lions’ Jameson Williams focused on improving this skill ahead of 2026
Reporting by Richard Silva, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Richard Silva, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
