Lions fans should be very concerned with second-year wide receiver

The Detroit Lions used the No. 12 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft on wide receiver Jameson Williams and the early returns have not been promising.

That trend continued during Friday's preseason opener – a 21-16 Lions win over the New York Giants – when the second-year receiver caught just two of the seven passes thrown his way for only 18 yards. 

Normally, one bad preseason showing would not be a cause for alarm. But Williams is not your typical second-year player. The Lions are hoping he can be a major part of their offense, but they still have no idea if he is actually any good as an NFL player.

His rookie season turned out to be a lost year as he missed most of the campaign still recovering from an injury that he suffered in college. When he finally saw the field, he only caught one pass on nine targets over the final six games of the season. 

That means over the six regular-season games a year ago and his preseason debut on Friday, Williams has managed to catch just three of the 16 passes thrown his way at the NFL level. 

That is a problem. A very big problem. 

Lions head coach Dan Campbell expressed some concern with Williams' play earlier in camp and it has been noted that he has struggled with drops in practice. Campbell tried to remain optimistic following Friday's game and said he did not have any expectations for Williams coming into the preseason contest. 

Said Campbell:

"I just want, get lined up, urgency, route definition, detail, finish, and I thought for the most part he did that. I’ve got to watch the tape, but he was in it, he cut it loose. It’s not perfect, but not everybody’s perfect out there either. We’ve got so much to clean up across the board, but I was more positive with the way he showed up. I thought he did some really good things.”

To some degree you can understand why expectations were so low given how little he has played. Still, you expect to see something that you can hang your hat on, especially in a preseason game. 

Even more concerning for the Lions is that as soon as the preseason ends, Williams is going to be going away as part of a six-game gambling suspension. 

That suspension, combined with the injury that sidelined him for most of his rookie season, means that by Week 7 of his second year he is going to have had almost no meaningful NFL experience, with really bad showings in the games he has played. 

The Lions have real expectations this season and should be a playoff team in the NFC. If they are going to make that sort of a jump they are going to need a someone like Williams to take a huge step forward and become the impact player they hoped he would be when they used a No. 12 overall pick on him. So far, it just has not happened. Lions fans should be very concerned about a wide receiver who is not on the field very often and does not catch the ball when he is.