Lions’ Jameson Williams creates a McFlurry of interest

Lions’ Jameson Williams creates a McFlurry of interest

Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams seemed to be speaking for McDonald’s fans everywhere on Thursday.

“You know, the McDonald’s McFlurry machine always ain’t working,” Williams said, “so you got to find one that’s working.”

Williams was in the Lions locker room talking about the McFlurry machine because he’d turn the heads of fast-food connoisseurs with an Instagram post from McDonald’s – a McDouble with a McFlurry dumped on the burger, an image he shared via Instagram.

“I ain’t always did that,” Williams said, “but I started doing that a little minute ago. Me and one of my bros, we actually seen it a little minute ago. …

“It was cool, though. It was good. I think y’all should try it. It’s called the Oreo McFlurry Double — 10 out of 10.”

For obvious reasons, Williams can’t concoct one on every visit to McDonald’s.

“I went to the McDonald’s on Jefferson (Avenue),” Williams said. “(The McFlurry machine) wasn’t working like the first two or three times. But the other day after practice, we had watched film as a receiver group, and I just went up there and got it.”

Some Detroit fans might like to see a McFlurry of receptions from Williams. In five games this season, Williams has eight receptions for 89 yards and one touchdown. In Sunday’s 41-38 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, when he played a season-high 52 percent of the Lions’ offensive snaps, Williams caught two passes for 18 yards and lost a 10-yard TD reception to a penalty.

“I really don’t focus on the targets,” Williams said. “That’s not my thing anymore. I don’t really know what to say, like, on the targets. I don’t really focus on that. Like I’ve said every time, I’m just focused on winning. We got a real good thing going right now, something like Detroit hasn’t seen in a while. We’re just focused on keeping it going. It don’t matter who gets the ball. When you see the ball in somebody’s hands on our team, you see they making plays, so that’s all that really matters to us.”

But Williams feels as though he’s closer to making a bigger contribution for Detroit.

“I’ve been feeling like I’ve been more involved, getting more reps,” Williams said. “I’ve been practicing more. I’ve been focusing on the little details, so everything can be right when I get on the field. Just got nothing to worry about; just play football.”

In a way, Williams has been playing catch-up since he joined the Lions as the 12th selection in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Williams didn’t make his NFL debut until Detroit’s 12th game of the 2022 season because he sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his final game with Alabama – the CFP national-championship contest for the 2021 season.

Williams had two touches during his rookie season. On Dec. 11, 2022, Williams started the Lions’ scoring in a 34-23 victory over the Minnesota Vikings with a 41-yard reception. On Jan. 1, Williams went 40 yards on an end-around in Detroit’s 41-10 victory over the Chicago Bears.

Williams started the 2023 season four games late because he had to serve a suspension imposed by the NFL for violating the league’s gambling rules.

While he’s considered one of the NFL’s fastest players and has had to come from behind because of two setbacks affecting his playing time, Williams said “slowing everything down” was helping him improve faster this season.

“Coming in, I tried to stay just moving on the fast track,” Williams said. “Everything didn’t go well, I would say, going that way. But as I understood and slowed things down and really tried to figure things out, slowing it down helped me a lot. I started getting a lot of help from outsiders and people on the team. It just started moving good. …

“The speed on the field has always got to be there. I got to use that to my advantage. But slowing things down is maybe just like formation or play. … It’s a lot of things going on.”

The Lions lead the NFC North with a 7-2 record and are preparing to face division rivals in back-to-back home games, with the Chicago Bears visiting at noon CST Sunday and the Green Bay Packers coming to Ford Field at 11:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.