Jameson Williams is walking into 2026 with the kind of momentum that turns a good season into a real leap. After the best year of his NFL career in 2025, the Lions wideout has already shown he can be a nightmare on the outside, and now the conversation shifts to whether he can clean up the parts of his game that kept him from being even more dangerous.
The numbers from last season tell the story. Williams finished with 65 catches for 1,117 yards, and he did it while cementing himself as one of the league’s most feared vertical threats.
He also piled up 447 yards after the catch, a total topped by only nine other receivers, including Amon-Ra St. Brown at 591.
That fits right into what Detroit has been doing for years, with the Lions ranking among the top six teams in yards after the catch each season since 2022.
Still, the next step for Williams is pretty clear: he has to become a steadier pass-catcher. He posted a catch percentage of 63.7 percent in both 2024 and 2025, a mark that sat below league average and ranked 134th out of 197 qualified receivers last season.
The drops were an even bigger issue. Per Pro Football Reference, Williams had a league-worst 12 drops in 2025, along with the third-worst drop percentage among qualified receivers at 11.8%.
Williams knows that part of the job is as much mental as physical. “It’s a mind thing to me,” the 25-year-old speedster told reporters during OTAs.
There’s also a new voice helping shape the offense. New Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing is expected to bring another layer to Detroit’s attack, and Williams already sounds encouraged by what he’s seeing.
“I love the way he’s prepping us,” Williams said in early June. “We’ve had a great two weeks, three weeks so far, and everything’s looking good.
So, he’s just got to keep building, staying on top of our game, and get better every day.”
If Williams can pair that explosiveness with more reliable hands, the ceiling gets even higher. He already proved he can stretch defenses and create chunk plays; now the challenge is turning more of Jared Goff’s throws into completions and making the most of those opportunities.
That’s why the projection for 2026 lands where it does: 72 catches, 1,231 yards and eight touchdowns.
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Lovetts appeal is straightforward enough: he brings a blend of size and speed that could help him stand out in a crowded competition. If he strings together a strong camp and preseason, he has a real path to pushing for the teams fourth receiver role, which would put him in the mix with veterans and other depth options fighting for the same limited opportunities. [Read more 🡒]
Sam LaPorta Just Took A Strong Stand On Ford Field
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The timing only adds to the pressure, with the NFLPA saying a large majority of players prefer grass and with preparations already moving ahead for stadiums that will host matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Ford Field remains part of the broader debate because the Lions still play on an artificial surface, and any change there would have to fit the realities of an indoor building that makes a grass conversion far more complicated than it sounds. [Read more 🡒]
One Lions Battle Could Decide Whether This Defense Settles Down
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Malcolm Rodriguez, Damone Clark and rookie Jimmy Rolder are all in the mix, giving the Lions a blend of familiarity, special teams value and upside to sort through. Rodriguez is expected to get the first look with the first-team defense in base packages, but the competition is still wide enough to make this one of the more interesting early tests for a unit trying to find its footing. [Read more 🡒]