It's not what I want and it's not what you want. Everyone wants things to work out with Jameson Williams and the Detroit Lions. But man, you cannot ignore that Detroit just brought in essentially another version of Williams for a top-30 visit over the weekend.
Texas receiver Matthew Golden, who is considred to be the second best receiver in this draft, ran a blisteringly fast 4.29 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine in March, and he brings a lot of what Williams has brought to the Lions, but without some of the on-field issues, like tracking the ball, for example.
There's also the off-field stuff. For as much as we all like Williams and as much as the Lions have told us they like him too, you can't ignore the suspensions or the internal affairs case that came after Detroit Police stopped him with a concealed weapon in November. Those things might not matter a lot to us, but we aren't the ones who have to pay him when it comes time to do so.
At this point, it seems very unlikely that the Lions will sign Williams to an extension, and Lions GM Brad Holmes said at the League Meetings in Florida two weeks ago that the team was leaning towards the fifth-year option with him. The deadline to do that would be right after the draft on May 1st.
If the Lions were to do that, they would have to pay him $15.49 million in 2025, and then if he balls out, you have to pay even more after that. Possibly as much as Amon-Ra St. Brown is currently making. In the neighborhood of $30 million a year.
If the Lions were to take Golden with the 28th pick, they could then trade Williams and save a lot of money that they can use to make sure that Brian Branch, Jahmy Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, Jack Campbell, Kerby Joseph and Aidan Hutchinson all get paid their top of the league extension money they're all expected to get.
So while it would suck to move on from Williams, it makes sense financially and would be a huge help down the line. What could the Lions get for Williams if they moved him?
If you're hoping for a first-round pick, that is going to be very unlikely. A second-round pick probably would be too. The likelihood is that the Lions would likely get something like what the Falcons got for Calvin Ridley. A third-round pick and a late-day-three pick.
A team like the Jaguars could use a receiver to pair with Brian Thomas. Here's an offer that the Lions could get for Williams:
Lions get: 88th pick and 194th pick
Jaguars get: Jameson Williams
This allows the Lions to have an extra third-round pick in which they could use to score guys like Michigan edge Josaiah Stewart, UCLA edge Oluwafemi Oladejo, Ole Miss linebacker Pooh Paul, Virginia safety Jonas Sanker, or many other options.
Things need to happen to get to this point. Like Golden needs to fall to 28, which is very possible. We have his average draft position set at 29.80 at this time. Then the Lions would have to decide that he's the guy they want, and from there the doors are open to make the move. If they do, it changes the way they're able to build their roster immediately. We'll see what happens next week.
