The NFL training camps are getting hot, and during the next month, clubs have a lot to learn.

The Detroit Lions have three choices to make before the regular season begins on September 8.

How does Jameson Williams fit into the offensive scheme?
Williams was selected by Detroit in the first round of the draft to be a dynamic player for their offense, but in just two seasons, he has only returned 25 receptions, 395 yards, and three touchdowns on their investment due to injuries and a gambling-related ban.

Running Back Carry Split

Last season, the Lions’ strategy was to start David Montgomery and gradually integrate rookie Jahmyr Gibbs into the offense. This plan worked until Montgomery’s mid-October injury, at which point Gibbs began to emerge as a potential lead back. Many are wondering if this will be the breakout year for the former Alabama star. If Gibbs doesn’t step up, the Lions might need to find another reliable No. 3 pass-catcher to support star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and tight end Sam LaPorta.

Montgomery finished the season with a higher share of the team’s carries (43.8%) and rushing yards (43.9%) compared to Gibbs (36.4% of carries and 40.8% of rushing yards). However, Gibbs needs to play a more integral role throughout the season this year. The main question now is whether Gibbs has surpassed Montgomery on the depth chart, and if so, how many more touches per game he will receive.

Secondary Roles

Carlton Davis has secured one starting cornerback position, but the other spots are still in contention. Rookie first-round pick Terrion Arnold is likely to be Detroit’s second cornerback, though Amik Robertson could challenge him for that role.

The nickel position also presents a dilemma. Brian Branch might remain in that spot as he did last year, or he could move back to his natural safety position, allowing rookie second-rounder Ennis Rakestraw Jr., who has impressed during camp, to take over at nickel.

If Branch shifts to safety, the Lions will need to decide how to manage Kerby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu. These decisions will be crucial as the season approaches.

Lions OC Makes a Brave Remark About WR Jameson Williams.

Prior to Jameson Williams’ third season, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has elevated the wide receiver’s bar. Ben Johnson, the offensive coordinator for the Lions, did nothing to stop the Williams hype train on August 1.

Johnson gave Williams high marks for his work throughout the first few days of training camp. Williams has actually demonstrated, according to Johnson, that he is capable of doing any task that the team asks of him.

We were aware of it at the close of the previous year. In his news conference, Johnson told reporters, “He’s taken that to another level in the springtime and so far here in training camp.” He takes great satisfaction in adding some oomph to the attack, and we can definitely sense it in action. In addition to producing big plays in the passing game, he wants to be a dynamic blocker.

His mental state has begun to deteriorate. He’s been assigned to a few positions. His route tree has grown somewhat as a result. It has evolved. He believes that there is nothing that he cannot do, and we haven’t actually seen anything to contradict him yet.

“He is capable of doing everything we have seen.”

Williams has recorded 25 catches for 395 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns in his first 18 games in the NFL. In the postseason, he also caught six passes for 79 yards and two scores in the NFC championship game.

Is Jameson Williams of the Lions Enough for a Breakout Season?

In the modern NFL, many wide receivers selected in the first round have an instant effect. When teams move up in the draft to get wideouts, the anticipations are much greater.

In the 2022 NFL Draft, the Lions selected Williams with the number twelve pick, moving up from No. 32. Williams tore his ACL in the last game of his college career, but Detroit nevertheless surrendered the No. 34 and 66 picks to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for the right to draft him (they also received the No. 46 pick).

Williams only caught one ball in his first six games as an NFL rookie while he recovered from the ACL tear. Then, he was suspended for gambling-related offenses, missing the first four games of his second season.

But when Williams returned in Week 5 of the season, he developed into a reliable contributor. He finished his career with at least 40 receiving yards in six of his eleven games.

Williams is prepared for a larger role in the upcoming season, as the Lions have made clear during this offseason.

During offseason exercises on May 23, Campbell told reporters, “If you said, ‘Give me one player that is the most improved from start to finish in that time,’ Jamo would be that guy right now.” All I’m going to say is that he’s a man on a mission. Okay? I’m going to end it there.

Williams’ teammate receiver with the Lions, Amon-Ra St. Brown, stated of him, “I think this year is going to be huge for him,” according Jeremy Reisman of SB Nation’s Pride of Detroit. “It is, in fact, what I know.”

Dan Campbell’s Reaction to Williams’ “Sad Incident”

In the eighteen NFL regular season games, Williams has only found the end zone four times. But in training camp, he’s finding the end zone. Williams split two defenders on July 25 to score an incredible touchdown.

Following that touchdown, Williams reportedly puked “four or five times,” according to Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. But Campbell was not at all bothered by that.

Campbell told reporters, “He can throw up all he wants as long as he keeps making those plays.”

The Lions, along with Campbell and Johnson, are looking to Williams to emerge as the team’s second-best receiver after St. Brown. Josh Reynolds, Detroit’s second-best wideout from the previous campaign, left to accept a free agent contract with the Denver Broncos.

Donovan Peoples-Jones and Kalif Raymond are predicted to make big contributions to the Lions’ receiving corps in 2024.