1. WR Jameson Williams
Williams has been seeing more action lately, as he's earning trust with all-around crisper play. A turning point pointed to by Lions coaches in Week 10 against the Los Angeles Chargers, coming out of the bye week, has been followed by two games with north of a 60 percent snap share. He had a touchdown erased by a penalty against the Chargers, he had a touchdown against the Bears in Week 11 and he has come up with clutch catches.
This past week, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson pointed to how things are coming together for Williams.
"The way he’s practicing, the way he’s preparing, and the way he’s playing, because of that, his reps are going up, He continues to get out there, and the ball is going to just start gravitating to him just a little bit more than it already has, But he’s going a really nice job, and he just needs to continue to put in the work like he’s doing right now."
Since returning earlier than expected from his gambling suspension, as noted by Kyle Meinke of MLive, Williams has put together the longest stretch of practice he's had as a pro. His snap counts are being reflected in that run of uninterrupted work. And there are certainly roots of better results to come, with or without Johnson's suggestion about more targets coming his way.
Broadly speaking, the Lions need a wide receiver besides Amon-Ra St. Brown to produce consistently. This is the time for Williams to show he can be that guy.