Tyrell Williams got a chance to see Jared Goff up close the past four seasons.
Their teams practiced together one preseason and squared off in exhibition and regular season games the other years, but it wasn’t until Williams joined Goff as a teammate with the Detroit Lions this spring that he realized how competitive Goff is.
“From afar, I always thought he was kind of quiet, but he definitely, he connects with everybody in the huddle, connects with everybody on the offense, knows everybody really well and he makes it a lot easier just to communicate on what he’s wanting or expecting, or what we’re expecting,” Williams said. “He gets excited, too. He shows that emotion, which is something I definitely didn’t see from afar.”
The Lions closed the mandatory portion of their offseason program with their final practice of minicamp Thursday, and the connection between Goff and Williams was hard to miss.
Williams and tight end T.J. Hockenson stood apart as Goff’s two favorite targets in seven-on-seven drills, with the Lions featuring Williams on an assortment of routes both close to the line of scrimmage and vertically down the field.
Williams said early-spring throwing sessions he and other receivers had with Goff helped build a bond between him and his quarterback. The two likely will link up for more throwing sessions this summer in California, where both keep offseason homes, Williams said.
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“He is even-keeled and cool, but like those situations, guys making plays, he appreciates that when you make those contested catches and help him look good,” Williams said. “If it’s not a great pass, guys make those plays, and I think that emotion comes with it and he just has fun playing the game.”
Williams said he was watching film of a red zone drill the Lions did in practice Tuesday when he noticed Goff “in the back jumping” to celebrate a catch.
While he missed Goff’s exuberance in real time, Williams said moments like that endear a quarterback to his teammates.
“That’s huge,” Williams said. “I played with Phil Rivers (with the Los Angeles Chargers), probably the most animated guy, so being around that it just picks everybody up. Everybody has fun with it and it just makes it so much more fun. It really does. Guys just into it, and especially the quarterback. If they show emotion and get hype and they’re talking a little bit to the defense, it just makes everybody feed off of that and feel that.”
Goff is not known as a trash-talker on the field — and is certainly not as fiery as Rivers.
“I don’t know if anybody talks like him,” Williams said.
But five months after the Lions acquired him in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams, Goff has established himself as the clear-cut leader of the Lions’ offense.
Head coach Dan Campbell and offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn have empowered Goff by tailoring their playbook to his likes and needs. And Goff, who played in the shadows of head coach Sean McVay and teammates Aaron Donald and Todd Gurley in L.A., has responded by imparting an urgency in his teammates.
“Jared comes in and works every day,” backup quarterback David Blough said. “You see it. When he comes in, it’s time to go and there is, stuff’s going to get done when he puts his mind to it. It’s been fun to see this offense and him feel empowered to be able to be the trigger man and be the guy who’s sitting back there being confident. I think people are going to like what they see. It’s been a lot of fun to watch. He’s impressed me for sure.”
Briefly
The Lions close their offseason program next week with practices that Campbell said will be similar in nature to minicamp. Campbell said he expects roughly half of the Lions’ 90-man roster to attend, mostly rookies and first- and second-year players, with some veterans choosing to stick around.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.