3 Detroit Lions players who benefit most from shocking Ben Johnson decision

2. WR Jameson Williams

It took a little time, but more snaps eventually yielded more production for Williams as his second season wound down. 16 of his 42 regular season targets and 11 of his 24 catches came from Week 15-17, before he missed Week 18 due to injury.

Then he played at least 70 percent of the offensive snaps in two of the three postseason games, highlighted by a 42-yard touchdown run to open the scoring in the NFC Championship Game. He also caught Detroit's final touchdown of the game.

The overall numbers for Williams over his last six games this season don't necessarily leap off the page on the whole. But his impact was notable and regularly visible.

Via Justin Rogers of the Detroit News, fellow wide receiver Kalif Raymond noted the work Williams put in behind the scenes to foster his breakthrough late in the season.

"Look man, I was so proud of him, man, because he was doing a lot of stuff that people didn't see even before practice," Raymond said. "Everyone is talking about (his) work ethic, but that dude was catching balls before practice, all kinds of stuff. That dude was working...."

Williams' second season development was set off course early by what wound up being a four-game gambling suspension. But he clearly earned the trust of the coaching staff over time, as he refined his game as a wide receiver (drops, etc.) and started to produce.

Williams was at times too often used as deep threat to clear space for others, only to draw an occasional target. He showed he can be more than that when given the opportunity. There's definitely room to expand his route tree next season, and the continuity of Johnson coming back to run the Lions' offense will only help foster a third-year breakout.