LOOK: Jameson Williams shows off his new number with the Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions newest offensive superstar, former Alabama receiver Jameson Williams, got his new number on Wednesday. The electrifying receiver decided to switch numbers to wear No. 9, the old number of former Lions great Matthew Stafford.
Check out Williams wearing his new number in his Lions gameday gear.
He made sure to reach out to Stafford via text for his approval about wearing his old number. The Rams’ quarterback wore the number for 12 years in Detroit, before moving onto Los Angeles Rams at the end of January. The former Georgia quarterback was instrumental in guiding the Rams to a Super Bowl title this season.
Williams was recently placed on the Non-Football Injury list by the Lions ahead of training camp, since he suffered his ACL injury on Jan. 10 in the College Football Playoff National Championship against the Georgia Bulldogs.
If Williams is not activated from the NFI list before the end of training camp and has to be placed on the regular-season NFI, he will be forced to miss at least four weeks of the 2022 NFL season.
Even though he still has to adjust to the speed of the NFL game, learn his new playbook, and recover from his ACL injury, Williams is a surefire bet to be one of the best playmakers in the National Football League for years to come once he gets adjusted.
Lions’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson recently talked about how it’ll be an uphill battle to get their first-round draft pick up to speed for the 2022 season.
“That’s a real struggle for us is to get him back, to get him healthy, and then get him as many reps as possible with the quarterbacks so that we know exactly where he’s going to be, we can anticipate the throw,” said Johnson. “It may take a little bit of time.”
Jameson Williams college football career
For the first two seasons of his college football career, Williams didn’t find the field often enough with the Ohio State Buckeyes. During his Ohio State career, the star wide receiver only caught 15 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns. However, his story was completely rewritten after joining the Crimson Tide.
Through 14 games with the Alabama Crimson Tide, Williams caught 75 passes for 1,507 yards — adding 15 touchdowns. The speedster went from an afterthought to a first-round selection (No. 12 overall selection).
In those 14 games, his 1,507 receiving yards ranked fifth in the country. His 15 touchdown catches ranked second in the country. Last but not least, here’s a stat that demonstrates his highly explosive nature: Williams had more touchdowns of 70 yards, 60 yards, 50 yards, 40 yards, 30 yards, and 20 yards, than any other receiver in the FBS.
The Detroit Lions kick off their regular season against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Sept. 11. Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM EST.
On3’s Stephen Samra and Sam Gillenwater also contributed to this article.