Allen Park — As his second season has progressed, Detroit Lions receiver Jameson Williams has seen his role steadily grow as he's earned the trust of the coaching staff. In each of the past five games, he's played at least 50% of the team's offensive snaps.
But the 2022 first-round pick's production hasn't increased with his playing time. He's averaged two targets per game those five weeks, resulting in seven grabs for 124 yards. That's been anchored by the past two games, where he's tallied one catch for 11 yards.
Despite his rare speed, Williams' route tree appears to be highly limited on tape. On most passing plays, he's running vertically, but less as a target for quarterback Jared Goff and more as a decoy, designed to draw defenders and create space for his teammates, which he does well.
Beyond that, Williams' most common route are quick outs, designed to get the ball in his hands in space with blockers in front, simulating the success he had as a kickoff returner in college. The Lions also have started using him more as a runner, handing it off to him on an end-around and a reverse in the past two games, resulting in a 19-yard touchdown against the New Orleans Saints.
But when the offense goes stagnant, like it did against Chicago on Sunday, Williams' lack of usage feels glaring. On Monday, coach Dan Campbell was asked if the team needs to look at expanding the young receiver's route tree to find more ways to put his game-breaking speed to use.
"Yeah, we'll keep working with him," Campbell said. "He's improving. We'll keep working to find some different ways to get him more involved. Because he is, he's putting the work in and he's improving. He's really no different than Saint (Amon-Ra St. Brown). We keep finding ways to get Saint more involved. (Josh) Reynolds did some good things, (we're) finding ways to get him involved.
"Look, we're going to do what's best for us, and ask our guys to do things they do well," Campbell said. "So yeah, absolutely, he's earned that. We're going to keep working on it."
Ultimately, it's a generic answer that could apply to any of the team's receivers, including newcomer Donovan Peoples-Jones, who had the same number of targets and one more reception against the Bears on Sunday, despite playing fewer than a quarter of the snaps.
Selected 12th overall, Williams' development has been stunted by rehabbing an ACL injury as a rookie, followed by a four-game suspension for violating the league's gambling to start this year. In 15 career appearances, he's caught 14 passes for 236 yards and three touchdowns.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
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