Detroit Lions' Antwaan Randle El has sage advice for Jameson Williams

Jameson Williams had more drops (three) than catches (one) in his rookie season, and his inconsistency catching the ball showed up at times again this spring.

But Detroit Lions wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El downplayed concerns about Williams' hands this week, saying the second-year pass catcher is working on things to fine-tune that part of his game.

"It’s going to look like that a little bit just 'cause we’re working on a couple different things to help him from that standpoint," Randle El told reporters Monday. "But he knows how to catch the ball. It’s just like, all right, well, not that you got to focus more here, but this needs to be caught and tucked this way, as it relates to getting the ball and catching it and tucking it away from the defender. Defender’s on your right, what arm do you put it in and vice versa, and all that type of stuff. So, been working on it."

Williams, the 12th overall pick of last year's draft, played sparingly as a rookie while he rehabbed from the torn ACL he suffered in January 2022.

He debuted in an early December win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, had his first career catch for 41 yards the next week against the Minnesota Vikings and finished with nine targets in 78 offensive snaps last season.

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Williams dropped a swing pass against the Vikings with a defender bearing down on him in the open field, had a ball glance off his hands on a crossing route that was thrown slightly behind him in a Week 17 win over the Chicago Bears and had a pass bounce off his chest on a comeback route in the season finale against the Green Bay Packers.

But Williams also showed dynamic playmaking ability as a rookie. He had a 40-yard run against the Bears, had a long touchdown against the Packers called back by a holding penalty and had another would-be TD batted away in the end zone against the New York Jets when he had to pull up for an underthrown pass.

Williams isn't the first young receiver to struggle with drops while getting acclimated to the NFL. Ja'Marr Chase battled drop problems in his first training camp with the Cincinnati Bengals — he attributed it to a lack of concentration and getting adjusted to a new football (one without the white stripes used in college). Now, Chase is one of the consensus best receivers in the league.

Williams' issues could be compounded by the six-game suspension he's set to serve this fall for violating the NFL's gambling policy, which makes the work he will get in training camp all the more critical to his development as a player.

"Last year it was a lot of mental reps, getting prepared for when he did return and now he can actually get those reps and now he’s running those routes and now he can figure out, 'Oh, OK, this is what Coach is talking about, why we can’t give an extra move at the top of this route because of the timing,'" Randle El said. "Those things that he’s trying to get, and he’s getting them better and better as we go. So those are really the differences as it relates to on the field, but he’s starting to see it more and more, which is good."

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Randle El said he has counseled Williams to "silence the noise of the media" for criticism of his maturity he has faced since his suspension.

"You spit the wrong way, they’re going to write about it," Randle El said. "But that’s just part of it. And he understands that and he’s getting better at that, like, 'Hey, it doesn’t matter.'"

And he said Williams remains motivated and capable of being a big weapon for the Lions this year.

“I don’t have to motivate him much when it comes to ball," Randle El said. "He loves the game and wants to get better and works at it, but the encouragement part, with all that’s going on, the injury and all that type of stuff and obviously now with the suspension it’s just, 'Hey, just you keep doing what you’re doing, stay at it in terms of working hard. This is just another stumbling block, but again, you’ll come out strong on the other side.'

"He gets it, he understands it and it’ll certainly, it’ll be well for him once we do get him back and get going as it relates into the preseason and going into the season."

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions and Jameson Williams working to correct drops