Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams is well behind pace in the quest for a second consecutive 1,000-yard season. The former No. 12 overall pick broke out in style last season with by far the best year of his NFL career but has not found the same success in 2025, and offensive coordinator John Morton took the blame for that slow start to the campaign, saying that he “failed” Williams over the first seven games.
Morton is in his first year as the Lions’ play-caller, and with new roles often come learning curves with regard to personnel and tendencies. The new coordinator said he intends to work at getting Williams open more often and dialing up plays to unlock his capabilities as one of the Lions’ top weapons.
“I’m going to do a better job with that,” Morton said on Thursday. “But there has been opportunities where it just didn’t happen. It’s not like we ain’t going to try to target him. That was the biggest thing. So I looked at everything. I have failed him. That’s what I have told him. I have to do a better job with that. But it’s a two-way street. We definitely looked at that.”
Williams last season caught 58 passes for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns, and he added another score in the playoffs. He was on an extreme upward trajectory under former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and improved his numbers each of his first three years as a pro. Whether defenses are more dialed into his abilities or the coordinator change stunted his productivity, at the end of the day, he is a more modest part of the Lions’ passing attack than anticipated.
Through seven games, Williams has just 17 grabs for 289 yards and two touchdowns, putting him on pace to finish the year with just over half of the production he logged a year ago.
“This guy, he’s awesome,” Morton said. “He doesn’t say anything. He just goes and plays. Like I said to him, ‘I wouldn’t fault you if you’re pissed at me.’ I’ve coached that position. I played that position. I know he works too hard. We gotta make sure that we’re going out and doing the right thing, the right techniques, this and that. It’s not just him. It’s everybody.”
The rest of the Lions’ receivers picked up some of the slack with Williams uncharacteristically quiet. The teams’ 1,565 passing yards through seven games is almost identical to the 1,599 yards the offense racked up at this point a year ago. Amon-Ra St. Brown has been the primary target, as per usual, and leads the NFL with seven touchdowns. Tight end Sam LaPorta and running back Jahmyr Gibbs also have more catches than Williams.
“Especially on third down, they’re doubling [Amon-Ra St. Brown], they’re doubling him,” Morton said. “There’s a lot of stuff that’s going on. I have to be creative. I have to go in the archives and try to get these guys open better.”
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