Jared Goff Explains Why Connection With Jameson Williams Taking Time

Jared Goff

Getty Jared Goff points out a play for the Lions in 2022.

Detroit Lions fans likely expected wideout Jameson Williams to burst on the scene and make a more consistent impact, but that has not happened.

Williams has just one catch for 41 yards and a touchdown, and many have been wondering if there is some effort being made to hold him back on the coaching staff or with the team’s brass.

His quarterback Jared Goff, however, offered a pretty good answer about the case. When talking to the media on Wednesday, December 28, Goff said that he already trusts Williams, but finding timing between quarterback and receiver is a big piece of the puzzle left to solve.

“You’d love to have OTAs and training camp in the whole offseason. That’s typically what it is. So yeah, we’re building it and the trust is there. I don’t think the trust is what I need to build. It’s just timing,” Goff explained. “Just like anything else, he’s only been out there for another four weeks now, but yeah, he’s coming right along.”

As Goff predicted, Williams still has all the tools to be great for the Lions in the future, but all it will take him to reach that level is time and comfort.

“He’s coming along very nicely and like I said, as he grows as a player and as his progression grows, so will his role in the offense. I think eventually he will be that premier guy and the sky is the limit for him. When that happens I don’t know. That’s just kind of where it’s at,” he said.

The Lions are trying hard not to rush things with Williams, a guy that they see as a player who could be a breakout star of 2023. Getting Williams to that point, though, means helping him get his feet wet first.

Working on timing is a big issue. To that end, it’s not a shock that the Lions are taking their time with Williams in terms of acclimation to the league given his unique timeline.


Goff

So will Goff try to force the ball to Williams just to get him involved? Not exactly. The quarterback is still looking to find the right connections with Williams when it makes sense.

“If it fits, certainly. He’s a great player and a guy that can change our offense and if we can get him the ball it’s definitely helpful for us,” he said. “It’s by no means something we want to force and we’d love to give him the ball just like we’d love to get DJ Chark the ball and Josh Reynolds and Amon-Ra St. Brown and everyone the same way. I think you know as his progression grows as a player, it’ll grow on our offense and he’s coming right along.”

As Goff explained, if Williams manages to get open, he’s going to find him as part of the game plan.

“I throw the open guy, so whoever is I like to think that I find them open. Like I said, he’s on his way to becoming that player that we all know he will be and it just takes time. I’d love to throw him 10, 15 balls every week. I’d love to throw all those guys a million balls, but as time goes on, he will become that guy,” Goff said.

Whether it’s this week or next that Williams shows those signs in a game, more signs are continuing to show up in practice to Goff that Williams is going to be a top-flight player for the future.


Dan Campbell: Lions Will Get Williams Reps

Why has Williams been on the shelf? A big reason that is the case, according to head coach Dan Campbell, is the fact that Williams is still learning and improving, as much as Goff hinted himself.

As he continues to do both of those things, and the coach revealed that he could earn more plays in Week 17 as a result.

Speaking with 97.1 The Ticket in an interview on Tuesday, December 27, Campbell was asked about Williams, and revealed some of the thinking behind what the staff is doing with the youngster.

As he said via Justin Rogers of the Detroit News, Williams remains a work in progress and is still improving to earn more looks. Those looks, though, are coming.

“He’s a work in progress, and it’s like anything else, he gets better in practice, sharper in the details and all that. He was a little better this week than last week and we’ll get him a couple plays, a couple more plays this week.” – Dan Campbell on Jameson Williams via 97.1,” Rogers tweeted.

Something to watch this week? The Lions are back indoors after playing two straight games in the elements. It was a freezing day with a hard field in Week 16, and Week 15 was also a tough game for a team to throw the ball effectively. It’s possible the Lions did not want to risk him in that game.

Perhaps Williams comes back strong this week and sees a bigger workload indoors for the Lions against a Chicago pass defense that is middle of the pack, allowing 209 yards per-game and 18 total touchdowns.

Should that be the case, it might also be a good sign that quarterback and receiver are starting to get things figured out in terms of chemistry.