Jameson Demetri Williams (born March 26, 2001), nicknamed "Jamo", is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

before transferring to the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

in 2021, where he was named an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. Williams was selected by the Lions in the first round of the

2022 NFL draft The 2022 NFL draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual NFL draft, draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise next to Las Vegas. The first round ...

Early life

Williams was born on March 26, 2001, and grew up in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. He attended

Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in St. Louis, Missouri. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis. Background Cardinal Ritter Prep opened on September 6, 1979. It is name ...

and played for their football team. As a junior, Williams caught 36 passes for 1,062 yards and 15 touchdowns and returned three kickoffs for touchdowns. He was named an Under Armour All-American after finishing his senior season with 68 receptions for 1,626 yards and 22 touchdowns. Williams also ran track at Cardinal Ritter and won back-to-back Class 3 state titles in the 300 meter hurdles and set the state record. He was rated a four-star football prospect and committed to play at

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

. Williams has stated that

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

running back

Kyren Williams Kyren Lawrence Williams (born August 26, 2000) is an American professional football running back for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was selected by the ...

is his first cousin.

College career

Ohio State

Williams began his collegiate career at Ohio State. He caught six passes for 112 yards and a touchdown in his freshman season. As a sophomore, Williams started six games and had nine receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns. In the

2021 Sugar Bowl The 2021 Sugar Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2021, with kickoff at 8:00 p.m. EST (7:00 p.m. local CST). The Sugar Bowl was one of two College Football Playoff semifinal games, it featured two of the four t ...

, Williams scored a touchdown on a 45-yard reception against Clemson in the College Football Playoffs Semifinal. After the season, Williams announced that he would transfer to Alabama. Jameson would finish up his Ohio State career winning 2 Big Ten Championships and a college football Playoff Sugar Bowl win. Jameson Williams went on to play in the 2021 National Championship game against Alabama where the Buckeyes went on to lose 52–24.

Alabama

Williams was named a starter for the Crimson Tide going into his first season with the team. He made an instant impact with four receptions for 126 receiving yards and one touchdown in a 44–13 victory over

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. He was named the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) Special Teams Player of the Week for week 4 after returning three kickoffs for 177 yards and two touchdowns and also caught an 81-yard touchdown pass in a 63–14 win over

Southern Miss The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

. He had ten receptions for 146 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the 41–38 loss to

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

on October 9. On November 6, he had ten receptions for 160 receiving yards and one touchdown in a 20–14 victory over

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. One week later, he had six receptions for 158 yards and three touchdowns in a 59–3 victory over

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...

. In the following game, against

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, he had eight receptions for 190 receiving yards and three touchdowns in the 42–35 victory. In the SEC Championship, a 41–24 victory over

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, he had seven receptions for 184 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Williams was named first-team All-SEC and All-American as well as second-team All-SEC as a return specialist and the conference's co-Special Teams Player of the Year. Williams suffered a

torn ACL An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

in the

2022 College Football Playoff National Championship The 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship was a college football bowl game played on January 10, 2022, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The eighth College Football Playoff National Championship, the game determined t ...

rematch with Georgia. He finished the 2021 season with 79 receptions for 1,572 yards and 15 touchdowns. He led the SEC in receiving yards, yards per reception, and receiving touchdowns. He declared for the

following the championship game and began to rehab from the injury. Jameson would finish up his Alabama career with a 2021 Sec Championship, and a 2021 Cotton Bowl win.

College statistics

Professional career

2022 season

Williams was selected by the

in the first round (12th overall) of the

. The pick was acquired with a second-round pick (used for Josh Paschal) via a trade with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

for Detroit's first, second, and third-round picks. He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list to start the season on August 23, 2022, due to the torn ACL suffered in college. Williams returned to practice on November 21, 2022, and was activated on December 3, prior to week 13. He made his debut against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, logging zero catches on one target in the Lions 40–14 victory. The next week, his first career reception was a 41-yard receiving touchdown, contributing to a 34–23 victory over the same

team who traded his pick away. In week 17, he had a 40-yard rush in a 41–10 victory over the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

2023 season

Williams was one of four Lions players suspended for violating the NFL's gambling policy after an investigation by the league. The announcement was made in an NFL press release on April 21, 2023. The other Lions players were

Stanley Berryhill Stanley Berryhill III (born June 8, 1998) is an American professional football wide receiver for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Arizona. Professional career Atlanta Falcons On May 2, 2022, Ber ...

, Quintez Cephus, and

C. J. Moore Calvin J. "C.J." Moore (born December 15, 1995) is an American professional American football, football safety (gridiron football position), safety. He played college football at Ole Miss Rebels football, Ole Miss. Early life Moore was born and ...

. Cephus and Moore were suspended indefinitely for betting on NFL games, as was

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

defensive end

Shaka Toney Shaka Felton Toney (born January 7, 1998) is an American professional football defensive end for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Penn State and was selected by the Washington Football ...

. Williams and Berryhill were suspended for six games due to mobile betting on a college football game that occurred at a hotel room during a team road trip, in violation of league rules. Williams' ban was lifted on October 3 after only four games, two weeks shorter than originally announced. In his season debut in week 5 against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

, Williams caught two passes for two yards while having a dropped pass as well. In week 6 against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

, Williams caught two of his three targets for 53 yards, which included a 45-yard touchdown catch. In the 2023 season, Williams appeared in 12 games and started ten. He finished with 24 receptions for 354 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns to go with a rushing touchdown. In the NFC Championship, he had a receiving touchdown and a rushing touchdown in the 34–31 loss to the 49ers.

2024 season

In Week One against the Los Angeles Rams, Williams caught a career-high five passes for 121 yards and one touchdown. Williams was suspended for two games on October 21, 2024, for violating the NFL's Performance-Enhancing Substances policy. On the suspension, Williams stated he was disappointed by the suspension but responded that he had "no choice but to take it on the chin." During Week Nine against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Williams caught four passes and set a new career-high of 124 yards and one touchdown. He finished the season with 58 receptions for 1,001 yards and 7 touchdowns, and 11 rushes for 61 yards and a touchdown. In the Divisional Round game against the

, Williams rushed for a 61-yard touchdown, made one 19-yard reception, and threw one

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

, ultimately ending in a 31–45 loss.

2025 season

The Lions picked up the fifth-year option on Williams' contract.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Personal life

Jameson’s cousin

is a running back for the

References

External links

Detroit Lions bio

Alabama Crimson Tide bio

Ohio State Buckeyes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jameson 2001 births Living people American football wide receivers Alabama Crimson Tide football players Detroit Lions players Ohio State Buckeyes football players All-American college football players Players of American football from St. Louis