Jameson Williams will play more in his second NFL game, but what will that look like on Sunday against the Vikings?
Detroit Lions rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams made his NFL debut last Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, in case you’ve been under a rock somewhere. A report of how he’d be used before the game drew some attention, but it did not come to fruition.
Williams played eight offensive snaps against Jacksonville, with zero catches on one target. Head coach Dan Campbell confirmed, however fairly naturally or even automatic, that the Lions’ rookie wide receiver will play more on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.
On Thursday, Lions special teams coach Dave Fipp addressed the idea Williams was going to be or will be used as a gunner on punt coverage.
"It just comes down to the individual. I would say he’s different, he just loves football,” “ I would say once we got the go-ahead, I went to him also and just said, ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ And, he said, ‘Oh yeah, I just want to play.’ If he had told me no, then I wasn’t gonna play him there. I think every individual case is different, this guy wanted to play. We were gonna use him. We’ll see what we do this week.”You can’t paralyze yourself with the fear of a guy getting injured,” Fipp explained…I think you’ve got to make calculated decisions.”"
What will Jameson Williams’ role look like against the Vikings?
It’s fair to assume the Lions will punt at least once against the Vikings on Sunday. So Williams will presumably get some run as a gunner, as Campbell confirmed would’ve happened had they punted against the Jaguars.
But what about offensive snaps?
After playing eight offensive snaps in his debut, Williams seems well in line to double that snap count on Sunday and land somewhere in the 15-20 range. A play designed to get him his first NFL catch, in front of the home crowd at Ford Field with back-to-back road games coming after Sunday, feels like an easy order.
Williams likely won’t have big numbers in his second NFL game. But his impact can only grow from last week, and he may only need a play or two to make a noticable difference.