Moving up 20 spots to take Jameson Williams was certainly bold, and Lions general manager Brad Holmes cited a perfectly aggressive sentiment for getting it done.
A trade up in the first round was definitely a possibility for the Detroit Lions, so that they did so was not too shocking. But it was shocking that it came when the 12th overall pick was on the clock, and also somewhat a surprise the pick was wide receiver Jameson Williams. It was easy to think that big a move up was for a quarterback.
There’s something to be said for identifying “your guys” and doing what it takes to get them, within reason, even if hindsight proves you wrong. On Thursday night, Lions general manager Brad Holmes spoke about identifying Williams as someone the team wanted.
"I’ve always told you guys, if we have the conviction and we have the buy-in, we’ll be aggressive and go get that player. That’s what we did,” “There’s not a lot of them, but fortunately Jameson was one.”I think what gets overlooked about Jameson is usually guys that are that fast, that electrifying— this guy’s tough. This guy’s gritty. He’s a dog. He loves football. He just fit what we’re about. Once the conviction and the buy-in kept rising, I started saying, ‘Alright, being that he’s one of those guys that we had graded very evenly up at the top, let’s go get him.’"
Brad Holmes had perfect aggression in move up for Jameson Williams
Beyond his numbers, which were great in his one season at Alabama right to when he tore his ACL in the national title game, Holmes was sure to cite how Williams fits the intangibles the Lions are looking for. “Let’s go get him” is the perfect way to wrap up the thought process for the move up.
The Lions essentially traded away just the No. 34 overall pick to move up 20 spots in Round 1 (32 to 12) and 20 spots on Day 2 (66 to 46).
— Austin Gayle (@austingayle_) April 29, 2022
That is just an insanely low price to move up 20 spots TWICE.
Most of the immediate reactions to the trade up for Williams say the Lions won the deal. Whether that assessment holds up over time is not that important in the moment–Holmes and company identified Williams as one of their guys, saw an opportunity and went and got him.