Jameson Williams Is Working on Something New and the Lions Are Not Here to Flop
The Detroit Lions had four defensive pass interference calls go their way in 2025. Four. For the entire season. It took until December to get one. When you have a receiver like Jameson Williams on the roster, a guy who can run past defensive backs like they are stuck in wet cement, that is a problem worth solving.
Scottie Montgomery, the Lions wide receiver coach and associate head coach, made it clear on Friday that Williams has been working on body positioning this offseason. The goal is simple. Lean into contact, draw more flags when defenders get handsy, and make catches through contact instead of just relying on speed to separate.
But when Jeremy Reisman from Pride of Detroit asked if the Lions are trying to manufacture those calls, Montgomery shut that down immediately.
“We’re not a flop team, man,” Montgomery said.
Good. Because nobody wants to watch that.
What Flopping Looks Like and Why Detroit Wants No Part of It
If you have watched the Oklahoma City Thunder, specifically Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, you know exactly what flopping looks like. The pump fake, the jump into the defender, the two free throws. Somebody breathes near him and SGA is on the floor like he just took a haymaker. You see it with Jalen Brunson. You saw it with James Harden in the playoffs, throwing himself to the ground after every shot like he was auditioning for a soap opera.
It works in basketball because the game allows it. In football, it just makes you look ridiculous.
The Lions are not going down that road. What they are doing is smarter. Williams is learning how to position his body so that when defenders make contact, it is obvious and legitimate. If the contact crosses the line, the flag comes out naturally. That is gamesmanship, not theater. That is football, not flopping.
Williams as a Contested Catch Threat Changes the Offense
Williams has always been fast. That was never the question. The question was whether he could win when the ball was contested, when he had to fight through a defender instead of just running past one.
The early returns from camp suggest he can. Williams is making more contested catches, leaning into contact without throwing himself on the ground, and putting himself in positions where defenders have to choose between letting him catch the ball or risking a flag. If he can win 50-50 balls consistently, Detroit’s offense gains a dimension it did not have last season.
And yes, I know what you are thinking. This team has already given you enough reasons to believe and enough reasons to wonder if it is all going to fall apart again. But this is not a Matt Millen move. This is not some desperate gimmick. This is a talented receiver adding a legitimate skill to his game under a coaching staff that knows what it is doing.
The Other Side of the Coin
The Lions also stand to benefit from losing the player who was getting flagged for defensive pass interference the most on their own defense. Terrion Arnold is no longer on the roster. The hope is that Detroit stops giving up backbreaking flags on defense while simultaneously starting to earn a few more on offense.
The Lions do not want to be the Oklahoma City Thunder. Maybe they want to be something else. Something smarter. Something that does not require lying on the turf at Ford Field like a wounded animal every time a cornerback gets physical.
We will see what it looks like when the season arrives. But if Williams can make this work, if he can turn his speed into something more complete, this offense just got a lot harder to defend.
So is this a legit offensive upgrade or are we all just convincing ourselves Williams is finally putting it together? Drop your take below.
