Jared Goff has played with plenty of talented teammates during his NFL career, but when it comes to watching a player grow right in front of him, nobody has meant quite as much as Jameson Williams.
During an exclusive interview with Robert Mays, the Detroit Lions quarterback opened up about Williams’ transformation from a talented but raw first-round pick into one of the most important players in Detroit’s offense. For Goff, the most impressive part isn’t simply that Williams has become a back-to-back 1,000-yard receiver. It’s everything that happened behind the scenes to get him there.
“It’s the most rewarding teammate journey I’ve ever been a part of,” Goff said during the interview.
That is significant praise from a quarterback entering his 11th NFL season. As Goff explained, Williams’ development has included much more than learning how to use his elite speed.
Goff Remembers Where Williams Started
Williams entered the NFL under unusual circumstances after Detroit traded up to select him No. 12 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. He was still recovering from the torn ACL he suffered in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game while at Alabama, delaying his rookie debut until December.
“He came in coming off the ACL,” Goff said. “I’m sure he would be the first to say he wasn’t up to the standard he wanted to be early in his career.”
Williams played only six games as a rookie and caught a single pass, although that reception went for a 41-yard touchdown. His second season also came with interruptions, and it wasn’t until 2024 that Detroit finally got a full look at what Williams could become.
Since then, the production has exploded. Williams caught 58 passes for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns in 2024, then established new career highs with 65 receptions and 1,117 yards in 2025, adding seven more receiving scores. He has averaged more than 17 yards per reception in each of the past two seasons. (NFL.com)
The numbers are impressive. Goff is even more encouraged by how Williams learned to produce them.
Williams Learned How to Become a Pro
Goff has watched Williams’ approach evolve alongside his production.
“To watch him learn how to work and how to put the time in has been awesome,” Goff said. “He has always been a good teammate. He has always been a good guy.”
What changed was Williams’ understanding of what being an NFL receiver requires Monday through Saturday. Speed could get him open. Becoming a complete receiver required considerably more.
“He learned how much is required at this level,” Goff said. “Then he started wanting to ask the right questions.”
That matches what Lions wide receivers coach Scottie Montgomery said earlier this offseason. Montgomery praised Williams for taking what he described as another major step in his preparation and understanding of the offense, something we examined when looking at why Williams could reach another level in 2026.
Goff has seen the change in real time.
One Question Made Goff Realize How Far Williams Had Come
Sometimes development shows up in a box score.
Sometimes it happens in a meeting room.
Goff recalled a recent moment when Williams stopped an offensive meeting because he wanted clarification on something being discussed. It was such a simple act that most players probably wouldn’t think twice about it.
Goff did.
“We were in a meeting the other day, and he stopped the meeting to ask a question,” Goff said. “I kind of giggled. The guy from four years ago would never have even considered asking that question. He probably wouldn’t even have known why he was asking it.”
That moment summed up the biggest difference Goff sees in Williams. No. 1 isn’t simply memorizing where to line up and running a route as fast as possible anymore. He is learning what the defense is doing, why Detroit is attacking it a certain way and how his assignment fits into the entire concept.
“To see his growth mentally and his understanding of coverages has been awesome,” Goff said. “It really has.”
For a quarterback, that development can change everything.
Williams Now Understands the ‘Why’
There is a major difference between knowing a play and understanding a play.
Williams increasingly understands the second part.
“To watch him understand why we’re running a play is so far away from where he was as a rookie,” Goff said. “Now he understands, ‘We’re running this to get you to do this and that and get you open.’”
The growth extends to details that can determine whether a completion becomes an explosive play.
“Now he understands where the ball should be, which shoulder it should be on and why,” Goff said. “That part of the game has come to him.”
That kind of quarterback-receiver connection takes time to develop, particularly for a player whose first offseason and rookie year were significantly disrupted by injury.
Detroit has now made it clear that Williams is a major part of its long-term plans. The Lions signed him to an extension through the 2029 season before the 2025 campaign, rewarding a player who had already transformed himself from a developmental weapon into a 1,000-yard receiver. (Detroit Lions)
The investment looks even more significant when considering how strongly Goff believes Williams is still improving.
Goff Says Williams Has Gotten Even Better
Williams’ 1,117 receiving yards last season established another career high, but Goff doesn’t think Detroit is looking at a finished product.
“It’s incredible,” Goff said. “He has gotten even better in the last month.”
That should get the attention of Lions fans.
Williams has already established himself as one of football’s premier explosive threats. Since the start of the 2024 season, the Lions credit him with leading the NFL in scrimmage yards per touch among players with at least 125 touches, while also leading the league in touchdown receptions of 20 or more yards during that span.
We even made the case earlier this summer that Williams could lead Detroit in receiving yards in 2026. If his mental growth begins catching up with his rare physical ability, that prediction becomes a lot easier to envision.
Williams no longer needs to win solely because he’s faster than the defender across from him. He is learning how to manipulate coverage, understand leverage and anticipate where Goff needs him to be.
That’s how explosive players become complete receivers.
One of Goff’s Favorite Teammates Ever
For all the discussion about routes, coverages and preparation, Goff’s comments ultimately became much more personal.
“To see his joy come to life on the football field is awesome,” Goff said. “He’s so fun to play with.”
Then Goff took it another step.
“He’s one of my favorites of all time,” Goff said. “I’m so happy he’s my teammate. He has come a long way.”
That tells you something about their relationship that statistics cannot.
Goff wasn’t merely describing a receiver he trusts to make plays. He sounded like a veteran quarterback who has watched a younger teammate struggle, learn, mature and eventually become exactly the player Detroit hoped he could be.
“He’s doing so well,” Goff said. “I’m very proud of him. He has come a long way. It’s awesome.”
Williams Earned Goff’s Respect
Nothing about Williams’ development was automatic.
The speed was always there. Detroit knew that when Brad Holmes traded up 20 spots to draft him. The question was whether Williams could add everything else required to become a dependable NFL receiver.
Goff believes he has.
“He has done the work,” Goff said. “He has been incredible. Watching him turn into the player he has become has been so rewarding.”
That may be the best compliment Williams has received yet.
Goff has seen every stage of the process. He threw Williams his first NFL touchdown. He watched him work through early frustrations and setbacks. He watched him record his first 1,000-yard season, then immediately surpass it the following year.
Now Goff is watching Williams ask questions in meetings that the rookie version of himself wouldn’t have even thought to ask.
That’s development.
Bottom Line
Jameson Williams’ rise has been easy to see from the outside. He has gone from one reception as a rookie to consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and has become one of the most explosive receivers in football.
Jared Goff sees something much bigger.
He sees the work Williams learned to put in, the questions he now asks, his growing understanding of defenses and the details that allow a quarterback and receiver to operate together at a much higher level.
Most importantly, Goff sees a teammate he has developed a genuine affection for.
Williams’ physical talent made Detroit believe he could become special.
According to Goff, everything Williams has done since arriving in Detroit is turning that possibility into reality.
And four years into their journey together, Goff sounds pretty proud to have watched it happen.
