Coming into the 2026 season, the hype train had officially left the station as it related to Jameson Williams and the stamp he was expected to put on the Detroit Lions' offense this year.
Willams looked phenomenal during camp making plenty of tough catches, and looked as if he was ready to turn over a new leaf toward his goal of becoming the best wideout in the NFL. He was even generating some positive buzz from the national media. Then, Week 1 against the New Orleans Saints happened.
Detroit's big play wideout had a shaky start to the game, dropping an easy deep ball that could have gone for a touchdown. He would go on to botch a reverse on the ground, and then drop another pass later on. It wasn't a great start to the season, with only four catches for 45 yards on nine targets.
Lost in all of the frustration was the fact that Williams did make a huge play down the stretch to get the Lions into the red zone in overtime. Without that play, it would have been a very dubious start for a receiver who needs a big season in order to reach some of his personal goals as well as the goals the team has set.
Still, even though Williams had his struggles, the Lions were able to win the game 31-30. Had any of the plays been made by Williams earlier, it could have turned the game to the point where Detroit didn't need overtime to survive. Football is a game of inches, and next time, Williams might make all the close plays he missed to be the reason the Lions win.
It was a frustrating performance for Williams, but after only one week, there isn't a reason to lose confidence. The hope is that he can parlay his last key catch into a much more consistent effort against the Buffalo Bills during Week 2.
Jared Goff has faith in Williams having a major rebound this season
If fans are worried about Williams, that isn't translating to the team at all. Even though Williams didn't have his best or most consistent game in the win against the Saints, his quarterback hasn't lost any faith in him or his impact moving forward.
As Goff explained, he believes he had a hand in some of the issues that Williams had catching balls. As such, he personally went to his wideout and told him of his need to improve and be more consistent with his passes. Even in spite of that, he loved his ability to stick with it and make a winning play late.
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"I talked to him. Some of those throws aren't my best. (I need to) get it to him in the right spot and on time. That's kind of one of those little things. I'm not worried about him in the slightest and I got to be a little bit better for him, too. But (I was) so proud of him late in the game. Game's on the line, I find him down the sideline and he makes the play and that was the difference."
Detroit's offense as a whole was not perfect on the day. They left multiple points on the field and made far too many simple mistakes. While Williams got plenty of attention for a few of his bigger gaffes, the entire operation could have been way better. True leadership is Goff knowing that he must look in the mirror as well.
When Week 2 rolls around, Williams will need to prove that he can rebound as much as the entire Detroit offense. There's room for everyone to grow from top to bottom.
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