Indianapolis — The Detroit Lions have two first-round selections in the upcoming draft, but at his media session earlier in the week, general manager Brad Holmes was asked if it was almost like he had three, given last year’s No. 12 pick, wide receiver Jameson Williams, is expected to be at full strength after spending much of his rookie campaign rehabbing his way back from a torn ACL.
“Obviously, we’re expecting big things,” Holmes said. “I guess that’s a good way to put it. It’s kind of like a brand-new first-round pick. You know, the goal when we originally drafted him, we didn’t know really how much we were gonna get out of him, but it was good to have him get some kind of game experience to kind of feel the speed of the game.
“But yeah, we’re just gonna continue to do everything that we need to do to make sure that he’s set up to succeed,” Holmes said. “Jameson also has to hold his part and make sure that he’s doing everything that he needs to do. So, it’s always an accountability factor on both sides, but we expect big things from him. He’s got rare talent, rare ability. He’s got a serious passion for the game.”
That passion, almost as much as Williams’ rare, elite speed, was a lure for the Lions to add him to the program. Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp, reiterating an observation he made last year, noted the way Williams covered kicks at the University of Alabama — a job star players rarely are asked to do — spoke volumes about his love of the game.
Of course, covering kicks wasn’t the only special-teams role Williams had at Alabama. He also served as a part-time kick returner, where he averaged 35.2 yards per attempt and scored twice on just 10 attempts.
That’s potentially a role he could reprise in Detroit, according to Fipp, but it hinges on what kind of workload Williams ends up having with the offense.
“I don’t totally know the answer to it, only because he is just kinda coming back,” Fipp said. “He’s done it. I mean, when you talk to him — there’s one thing I love about him — like he wants to do everything. The guy loves playing. ‘Be a gunner? I’ll be a gunner. I want to be the punt returner, too. I want to kick-return, too, I would have housed that one.’ And I think the great players are like that and they want to do all that stuff. So, we’ll just see how it goes.”
“Obviously, it would be great to see him back there (as a returner) if that’s what his role provides,” Fipp said. “But I’ve said this all along, a million times, is it just depends on their role on offense and defense to what their role is going to be on special teams. Their role on special teams is more influenced by offense and defense than it is on what he can do on (special teams).”
Fipp said it’s something that might go unappreciated by outside observers, but having a big role on offense or defense can significantly limit the impact a player can have on special teams. The coach said there are often times he’ll opt for a player with less talent but more energy to handle the key jobs with his unit.
He pointed to DeSean Jackson as a point of reference. Fipp coached the former Pro Bowl receiver in Philadelphia, and early in his career, when Jackson hadn’t fully carved out a large role on offense, he was one of the league’s best punt returners, averaging 11.2 yards and scoring four times. But, as his playing time at receiver grew, his return production dipped. He averaged just 5.7 yards bringing back punts his fourth through sixth seasons.
“It’s hard to ask a guy to do all those things at a really high level, and people don’t realize that,” Fipp said. “They’re like, ‘Well, just throw him back there.’ And it’s like, ‘Well, yeah, that’s good, but what happens when the ball’s punted to that side of the field, we thought it was going to be over to this side of the field and he’s like, ‘Oh (expletive), I got to go over there.’ Like, ‘Damn, I don’t think I got that in me right now,’ as opposed to the guy who’s coming off the bench and like, ‘Dude, I just want to play right now. There’s no way I’m going to let that ball hit the ground. I’m going to go track that thing down.'”
As a prospect, some compared Williams’ talent to Jackson, but Fipp sees different style players, noting Williams is longer and more of a “build-to-speed” runner as opposed to having elite short-area quickness like Jackson. Regardless, he hopes the second-year Lions wideout will ultimately produce at a similar level, whether it’s as a return man or pass catcher.
“The thing about DeSean was his ability to play the deep ball,” Fipp said. “He was a small guy, but his ability to finish the deep ball was exceptional. Hopefully, our guy looks like that.”
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers