Allen Park — The Lions didn’t need to see Jameson Williams run the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine to know he was the fastest receiver in this draft class.
The GPS tracking data general manager Brad Holmes and the team utilized had already told them the Alabama burner was tops in that department. But if Williams did have the opportunity to train and run at the pre-draft event, he’s confident he would’ve set a record.
“It would’ve been faster than the fastest 40 ran,” Williams said Friday during his introductory press conference. “I would have ran the fastest 40.”
This year? Or ever?
“Ever,” he said.
That’s likely music to the Lions’ ears, considering they rushed to scoop up Williams, who is recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in the national championship game in early January, during a run when receivers were flying off the board.
The Lions swung a trade with the Minnesota Vikings to jump up 20 spots and select Williams with the No. 12 pick in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday. To complete the deal, the Lions sent the Vikings three selections — Nos. 32, 34 and 66 — and received a second-round pick, No. 46, back.
“If you have a player that’s at an elite skill set and you’re not sure if you’re going to get that kind of skill set where you’re at, then that’s when you start making plans,” Holmes said, explaining the decision to trade up.
“I’ve always told you guys, if we have the conviction and we have the buy-in, we know that we’ll be aggressive and go get that player. That’s what we did. I already said there’s not a lot of them, but fortunately Jameson was one.”
What the Lions got is a player who is explosive and electrifying and possesses game-changing abilities and rare speed, all words Holmes used to describe Williams.
According to Williams, he was “blessed with speed.” He comes from a track family — his parents Tianna and James and three siblings all ran in college — and was a star in his own right in high school. At Cardinal Ritter College Prep in St. Louis, Missouri, he set the state record in the 300-meter hurdles, besting the mark that was previously held by Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott.
After spending two seasons at Ohio State, Williams transferred and burst onto the scene during his junior season at Alabama, where he routinely torched opposing defenses as one of the premier vertical threats in college football.
He racked up 1,572 receiving yards in 15 games, a single-season yardage total that trails only DeVonta Smith (1,856 in 2020) and Amari Cooper (1,727 in 2014) in Alabama history. He hauled in four touchdowns of 70-plus yards, which set a program record in a single season, and led the nation with 11 scores of 30-plus yards.
And if you ask Williams, his reputation as a big-play threat and knack for home-run plays will translate at the next level.
“I’m excited to join the offense,” Williams said. “I feel like we can do pretty big things. We’ve got Amon-Ra (St. Brown), DJ (Chark), in addition to the running back game. I just feel like we can do a lot of things.
“I feel good about that (being a game-changer). I feel like it’s nothing to me. I play football. I’m a playmaker, so if I get put in that position it won’t be much to handle.”
That excitement is shared by offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who is already envisioning different ways to deploy Williams.
“This is a guy that he shows up on offense making plays left and right,” Johnson said. “He’s running routes full speed, whether he’s involved with a play or not.
“We are going to be able to be creative in how we use everybody. … We’ll put them in position to showcase their talent. But it’s good because we’ve got a lot of different shapes and pieces there that we can be very, very diverse here on offense.”
Williams said it’s been 13 weeks since he had surgery to repair his ACL. He’s at the stage of the rehab process where he’s “doing regular movements” and is aiming to be ready to go by training camp.
Whenever he’s fully healthy, though, Holmes and Johnson said Williams will do more than just flip the field. Holmes said the one thing that gets overlooked about Williams is his toughness and grittiness, while Johnson called him “an absolute animal” who can make plays as a gunner on special teams.
Opposing NFL teams will find that out soon enough, starting with Williams’ need for speed.
“I think teams, when he gets healthy, they will realize where he is at on the field, and that’s what we’re excited about because that’s going to do nothing but open up our run game and the opportunity for all of our other skill players,” Johnson said. “This is a guy that can stretch the field deep without any sweat. He is electric, he’s got juice. Once he gets healthy, we’re going to have something to cook with. It’ll be fun.
“Defenses will take notice.”
jhawkins@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @jamesbhawkins