Lions film room: Breaking down the encouraging signs from WR Jameson Williams

Last week against the Washington Commanders, we found out that the Detroit Lions made a change with who was calling the plays on offense. Call it a mutual agreement, call it a soft firing or whatever else you want to call it but one thing is for sure, it needed to be called.

There's no doubt about it, the feeling that the Lions made the right call is there.

I know it was a banged-up Commanders defense, but the Lions also got into the head of the Commanders defense. We saw frustration boil over into Washington DT Daron Payne punching Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown in the face mask. It may have been started by St. Brown after they got into a scuffle a few seconds prior. There were words exchanged and the Lions had just scored.

The consistency was there for the Lions offense. It was all day with one successful drive after the other. Aside from QB Jared Goff and RB Jahmyr Gibbs, one of their most productive players was WR Jameson Williams. He finished week 10 with 6 receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown. Let's jump into the film to see the impressive performance from the talented fourth-year receiver!

Really hope that these stop routes become more frequent for Lions WR Jameson Williams. His speed will always threaten defenses so having him stop on a dime and work back towards Goff could be very beneficial on 2nd and 3rd downs. #OnePridepic.twitter.com/IW85Qx7D5o— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) November 11, 2025

Let's start with Jameson Williams' first catch of the game against the Commanders. Looking at the play above, the Lions come out with a 3x1 set with Williams aligned at the top of the screen. He takes an outside release and his speed forces the cornerback to turn and be prepared to run vertically with him.

Using his momentum and ability to stop and change direction, he turns back to Goff. With good timing, he finds the ball and is able to secure the ball for a 14-yard gain. There have been games this season where it's a strong start to the game for Williams on the opening drive. But from there, his role would diminish, and he wouldn't get targeted as much.

There were times when it felt like he was more of a decoy and would work vertically or across the middle on a bury route. The uncertainty of his role against the Commanders entered my mind despite this reception. Fortunately, it became a long and productive day for Jamo.

Can't get the crosser to upload but the in-breaking routes really worked for the Lions offense yesterday against the Commanders. Specifically, it paid off in a big way for Lions WR 1 Jameson Williams. He had 59 yards after the catch in yesterdays win. #OnePridehttps://t.co/oKPPd3ogaQpic.twitter.com/0H0aPbFlkn— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) November 10, 2025

Going with a series of catches, we focus on the clips above. Two of Williams' receptions came back-to-back and they were the same play. Both passes were completed off the dig route and one of them led to a touchdown. For Jamo, it became his fourth touchdown of the season for and his third touchdown out of the last four games.

We're seeing increased production this past month from Williams but his best game of the season was by far after Campbell started calling the plays. That's not a knock on what Morton had schemed up for him but more so that his performance against the Commanders feels more sustainable. It does feel like his role is going to expand further due to more consistency within the offense and this could lead to explosive plays.

Through 9 games, he's recorded 27 receptions for 474 yards and four touchdowns. With 8 games left, he's on pace for 51 receptions for 895 yards and 7.5 total touchdowns. However, if Williams is able to get more yards and receptions per game, that could see him get closer to the production he had last season. In 2024, he finished with 58 receptions for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns. One thing is for sure, he's not worried about the production; he just wants to win and do whatever is best for the team.

Lions running Shallow Cross with WR Jameson Williams should forever and always be in the playbook. Love that Goff described the playmaking ability of Jamo as “it’s a cheat code.” #OnePridepic.twitter.com/6vgs22NVuR— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) November 11, 2025

The last play I want to discuss is the completion off the Shallow Cross. This completion led to a 40-yard gain from Jameson Williams and it was a big chunk of the 119 receiving yards he recorded in this game. Looking at that play above, you'll see Williams condensed and tight to the line-of-scrimmage. With the motion at the top of the screen and the defender following, it's a clear indication that it's man coverage. Especially with the single high safety.

Using play-action is a nice wrinkle to this play. It forces the linebackers to bite on the run fake and flow to the back. Naturally, it designs a self-inflicted pick by the linebacker and safety running into the cornerback that is playing man coverage over Williams. This, plus, the addition of the speed from Williams and it leads to clear separation.

Despite throwing off his back foot, QB Jared Goff has a clear passing window to get the ball out to Williams. The completion leads to the big gain already discussed and it was one of the more explosive plays by the Lions offense.

This play happened around the 7-minute mark in the 3rd quarter. The fact that it happened later in the game gives the intention that there could be a clear understanding of how to properly use Jameson Williams. He's not just a 'run deep' type of receiver. He's showing that he can win in the short areas of the field, can win over the middle of the field and he can work back to the quarterback.

All of this is due to his improvements in his route running ability and his speed that doesn't just threaten but also wins. There should be more explosive performances coming for Jameson Williams. With big games on the horizon against the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams and others, there's no better time for those performances than now.

This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Lions film room: Breaking down encouraging signs by Jameson Williams