The first play of the first team period during Tuesday's training camp practice was a bomb down the right sideline from quarterback Jared Goff to wide receiver Jameson Williams. While Goff's pass was a little bit out of reach for Williams, we've seen Goff look Williams' way quite a bit these first three days of training camp and we've seen those two make plenty of connections.
It hasn't always been the deep shot either, though there's been plenty of those as well.
It looks like new offensive coordinator John Morton has expanded Williams' route tree to include all aspects of the field and because of that Williams has seen the ball come his way early in camp.
Williams said after practice Tuesday that he feels his route running has been his biggest improvement heading into his fourth season.
"Coach Johnny Mo (Morton) is letting me run more routes," he said. "I knew I could run more routes and he's putting me in position to run more routes. I'm getting better with cuts and angles and how to run this route and that route. I'd say I'm more polished in my route game."
That could be big for Williams and this offense, simply because we can count on one hand the players in this league with Williams' speed. That plays down the field on the go routes but could also be a weapon on crossers and creating space on comebacks. It just opens up the entire field for Williams and could open things up for Detroit's other skill players as well.
Entering his fourth season, Williams had a breakout season last year recording his first 1,000-yard season and totaling nine touchdowns including the playoffs. He had the second-highest receiving average (17.3) in the league last year and tied for the most 50-yard receptions.
The deep part of the field is always going to be part of Williams' repertoire, but with improved route running, it opens up the entire field for Williams and he could be headed for a monster 2025 season because of it.
DEFENSE REUNITED
All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph is the last line of defense for Detroit, and he plays one of the few positions where the entire game plays out in front of him.
Sitting back in his free safety spot Tuesday, Joseph couldn't help but crack a smile when the first-team defense forced an incompletion, a false start, batted a ball down and recorded a sack on third down in a three-play sequence to start the first offense vs. defense team period.
Mostly, the smile came from seeing Aidan Hutchinson back on the field and doing his thing. Watching Marcus Davenport give opposing tackles a hard time these first few days of practice. Having linebacker Derrick Barnes back playing his versatile SAM role. The Lions have a lot of injured defenders that they missed during the regular season last year back for the start of camp, and the defense has certainly made a good impression over the first few days because of it.
"Nobody ever wants to see anyone get injured but injuries are a part of the game," Joseph said after practice Tuesday. "Just to see everyone back playing this game, playing football everybody loves that. It sucks to be on the sideline because you're injured. Being back out there on the grass I feel like it boosts everyone's confidence."
That has certainly shown for Detroit's defense the first three days of camp. That side of the ball has been really strong.
INJURY UPDATES
Defensive lineman Roy Lopez got stepped on in practice Monday and sat out Tuesday. He'll be out a few days, per head coach Dan Campbell. Second-year running back Sione Vaki injured his hamstring Monday. Campbell said there's no timetable for his return.
"We're really high on him from an offensive standpoint, certainly special teams," Campbell said of Vaki. "He really helped us in special teams and we feel like he could do that again. But offensively, just to see what we could do with him, see if we could expand his role.
"We feel like just athletically, size-wise, explosiveness, power, there's versatility in what he could do. He might be able to play multiple roles, multiple positions, so this kind of sets us back. But he'll be in there rehabbing with Fisch (Lions Director of Player Health and Performance Brett Fischer), getting it right, getting strength back in it and then we'll start over again."
