Taken by Detroit 12th overall The Lions selected Williams (knee) in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, 12th overall. Impact The Lions traded up from the 32nd pick to nab Williams after three wide receivers went off the board in the four prior picks. It's a surprising outcome because the Lions appeared to have sufficient wide receiver depth with all of Amon-Ra St. Brown, DJ Chark, Josh Reynolds, Kalif Raymond and Quintez Cephus on the depth chart already, but Williams' merit as a prospect out of Alabama is compelling to the point that it's hard to criticize the pick. While St. Brown and tight end T.J. Hockenson figure to hog the middle of the field among Detroit's route runners, Williams offers a totally different downfield element, and in that downfield capacity Williams might be an NFL standout immediately. This is of course not an ideal fit with the skill set of Jared Goff, who is less than comfortable pushing the ball downfield, but if Detroit eventually stumbles into a good starting quarterback it would be easy to imagine Williams among the league's most productive receivers. The main obstacle in the meantime is his recovery from a torn ACL suffered Jan. 10. The Lions have the depth to bring him back slowly and they may well do that, but expect Williams to stand out once he's physically ready. He was outrageously productive for Alabama in 2021, turning 118 targets into 79 receptions for 1,572 yards and 15 touchdowns (67.0 percent caught, 13.3 yards per target) while returning two kickoffs for touchdowns.
APRIL 29, 2022 • ROTOWIRE
