When the Detroit Lions selected wide receiver Jameson Williams in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, they knew two things about him: he had room to improve and had the potential to be an NFL game-changer.

Entering his third NFL season, Williams has met the team’s increased expectations due to his improvement. Earlier in the offseason, head coach Dan Campbell referred to him as the team’s most improved player, while deputy general manager Ray Agnew recently gushed about his “tremendous growth” in an interview.

However, general manager Brad Holmes also disclosed the caution the organization had while selecting Williams in the first round.

“We said when we drafted him that he would need to mature a little bit. According to SI.com’s John Maakaron, Holmes stated, “And he did, so it’s been right on pace.”

“Mercy in Concealed Form” for Jameson Williams

Williams’ career in Detroit got off to a poor start. He missed the most of his rookie year while recovering from an ACL tear, and he also missed the first four games of his second season due to a gambling suspension.

Williams was able to improve both on and off the field during his time away, according to Holmes, who said it worked out well for him.

“I will also comment on Jamo, not just about him specifically, but in many different circumstances, it occurs in life that you perceive a setback and it turns out to be a small blessing in disguise,” Holmes remarked. “I believe that during those first two years, we were aware that he would be recuperating from his injury sustained in the previous year. Although he faced another challenge in the next year, he made great progress in those two years.

demonstrated amazing personal and professional development, so in my opinion, it’s been a positive thing because now that he’s playing, you can see how much his game has matured. Additionally, seeing this year has been a delight.

Lions Putting Quick Receiver in a Major Position

Josh Reynolds, the second-best wide receiver in the Lions’ wide receiving corps, left in free agency this offseason, leaving a hole that Williams is expected to fill in a big way. According to Tim Twentyman, a reporter on the team’s official website, Williams is anticipated to catch the majority of Reynolds’s 64 targets from the previous season.

Considering the effort Williams made to get better this offseason, Holmes expressed his confidence that Williams would be able to handle the challenge.

Holmes remarked, “It’s obvious he’s put in the work and he’s been working even harder.” It has significance for him. This young person adores football. He truly loves football, and I believe that his hard effort has paid off, as evidenced by the outcomes you witnessed throughout this training camp.

Williams has a lot of support, Holmes continued, and role models like Amon-Ra St. Brown.

“Obviously, St. Brown is an elite player; forget about his performance; focus on his intangibles and Kalif Raymond,” Holmes remarked. “He has a lot of excellent men to look up to and emulate. He’s seen how they operate, but the outcomes in camp are evident.

Lions selected as wide receiver rescue raft for the biggest loser in the Brandon Aiyuk contest.

This Monday, the 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk agreed to a four-year contract extension that will keep Aiyuk in San Francisco, bringing an end to a dull cycle of news and speculation that had lasted months. As a result, the teams who were supposedly interested in trading for him—possibly none more well-known than the Pittsburgh Steelers—now have to quickly look for other choices.

The Lions have a few wide receiver alternatives on their practice squad that the Steelers should take into consideration, according to Ryan Pawloski of Still Curtain. After losing out on Aiyuk, the Lions now “hold all the cards” for the Steelers.

The Steelers would have to add those players to their 53-man roster because, of course, being on the practice squad exposes them to being plucked. The Steelers couldn’t just randomly pick up these players because they want to; they would also need to have a desire to leave the Lions.

Let’s review the choices Pawloski mentioned for the practice squad of the Lions.

Somehow, Lions were painted as the Steelers’ Donovan Peoples-Jones WR rescue raft.

Peoples-Jones squandered a golden chance to take Josh Reynolds’ spot in the Lions wide receiving corps during the preseason and training camp. The fact that he returned to the practice squad suggests that his chances of signing elsewhere were slim. Or perhaps all he desired was to return to the Lions, should they desire him.

Other than that, the last preseason game gave the Steelers a close-up look at Peoples-Jones. They could have made room for him then if they had really wanted him after roster reductions, even though the Aiyuk crisis wasn’t quite over yet.

Tom Kennedy

Kennedy is the Lions’ August star every year, which makes some fans appreciate him more than his skill level warrants. Kennedy, dubbed a “reliable slot receiver” by Pawloski, has 14 career catches during the regular season.

Kennedy most likely feels a connection to the Lions and could want to stick around. It would be difficult to pass up the chance to have him on the Steelers’ 53-man roster, though.

Timothy Patrick

Patrick looked excellent in the preseason and seemed to be healthy with the Broncos after missing the previous two seasons due to serious ailments. However, they let it be known that they were cutting ties with him, and he eventually joined the practice squad of the Lions.

The Lions’ practice squad’s wide receiver who is most likely to be pursued by other clubs is Patrick. There’s the familiarity angle with the Steelers. He worked with quarterback Russell Wilson for two offseasons while he was in Denver, but because of Patrick’s injuries, that training was obviously never put to use in the regular season.

Allen Robinson

Robinson played for the Steelers the previous season, and they lost him to cap crunch early in the offseason. Why then would they bring him back at this time? Just being a well-known face doesn’t seem enough. Above all, why would he choose to return to Pittsburgh? He would undoubtedly agree that his salary should have been reduced, but it’s not clear if the Steelers discussed that with him prior to cutting him.

Thus, after losing out on Aiyuk, the wide receiver “cards” the Lions have for the Steelers are these.

Peoples-Jones: Unless he just really wanted to go back with the Lions, the Steelers could have him already.

Kennedy: I don’t mean to offend, but he has the option to explore joining the Steelers if they want to steal him from the Lions practice squad.

Patrick: The Steelers ought to and most likely do want this one the most. Patrick could ultimately want to see an opportunity with the Lions through to the end, and perhaps the timing isn’t perfect at this moment.Robinson: Robinson would undoubtedly “love” to rejoin the organization that released him several months prior, and the Steelers’ desire for a reunion should be significantly stoked by the fact that he didn’t play much for them last season.

It takes two to tango, despite the Lions’ depth at wide receiver on the practice squad making them an easy target for a trade. Kennedy might be willing to leave the Lions right away in exchange for a position on another team’s 53-man roster, but that could be pushing it. Patrick doesn’t feel like an option right now, assuming he turned down other organizations to join the Lions practice squad and he wants to see that chance through. For different reasons, Peoples-Jones and Robinson seem like dead ends.

The Lions practice squad is not a good fit for the Steelers wide receiver situation, despite their abundance of choices. Simply put, they would be better off searching elsewhere for a backup plan in case of Aiyuk.