The 2026 season has been disappointing for the Detroit Lions star wide receiver, Jameson Williams. Williams has 16 catches for 229 yards this year, but he has a 20% drop rate, which would be a career-high. He is also averaging 1.41 yards per route run, which is down from 1.86 and 1.97 rates he had posted the last two years.
Lions wide receiver coach Scottie Montgomery had a strong message to Williams after his slow start. He warned Williams to avoid being average.
“Every target he had in that game should’ve been a catch,” admitted Montgomery in his weekly press conference. “If it hits you … you gotta catch it. You can’t be boom or bust in this league. That is average. We gotta get him completely refocused on making wide-open catches and contested catches.”
Williams caught six of his eight targets. However, the two incompletions were deemed drops.
Detroit Lions WR Coach Has Strong Message for Jameson Williams
The Lions offense has been high-flying, but it had been a slow start for Williams. Williams posted four catches on nine targets in Week 1. Drops were an issue, but so was timing and being on the same page as quarterback Jared Goff.
In Week 2, he was only targeted three times, although he hauled in two passes. In Week 3 he caught all four of his passes. Williams posted just 49 yards, though.
Then, in Week 4, he saw his most productive game of the season. Williams caught six passes for 102 yards. Still, even in the breakout, wide receivers coach Scottie Montgomery had a strong message for the receiver not to get complacent.
Lions Need More From Williams
The timing of Williams getting hit with the pep talks is interesting. Williams has progressed every year in his NFL career. He was injured his first year and suspended his second year. Then, he posted 1,020 yards in his third year. Last year, he recorded 1,117 yards. As of now, he is on pace for 973 yards. It is not a bad season, but not on the trajectory he had been ascending.
It is interesting timing because Williams just signed a three-year, $80M extension this offseason. The team had invested in him and trusted what he could do. Quarterback Jared Goff said that his progress is one of the best things he has seen in his NFL career.
“The most rewarding teammate journey I’ve ever been a part of,” Goff said. “He came in, he was off the ACL. I’m sure he’d be the first to say that he wasn’t up to the standard he wants to be early on in his career. To watch him learn how to work and how to put the time in. He’s always been a good teammate. He’s always been a good guy. But how much is required at this level? To watch him learn that and then want to ask the right questions.”
So, expectations were that Williams was going to be even better in 2026 than he was in the previous years. So far, he has reverted to some of the inconsistencies and issues of his early career. We will see if this trend continues, or if the wake-up call from Montgomery clicks for him.
Lions Coach Sends Harsh Warning to Jameson Williams