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Brandon Judd
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Detroit Lions running back Jamaal Williams (30) is introduced before an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022, in Detroit.
Duane Burleson, Associated Press
Jamaal Williams is having a career year for the Detroit Lions.
The sixth-year running back out of BYU has rushed for 545 yards and eight touchdowns at the season’s midpoint.
He’s currently 16th in the NFL in rushing yards and third in rushing touchdowns.
Williams needs just 57 rushing yards to surpass his previous season-high numbers — he ran for 601 yards last year — and his touchdown total is already double his previous best, when he ran for four touchdowns as a rookie for Green Bay in 2017.
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Is the 27-year-old Williams one of the Lions’ most important players this season?
ESPN’s Eric Woodyard makes that case.
This week as a part of ESPN’s NFL power rankings, they had the organization’s team beat writers identify each program’s MVP at midseason, with one caveat: it couldn’t be a quarterback.
Woodyard chose Williams.
Woodyard, who used to work as the Deseret News’ Utah Jazz beat writer, identified Williams’ leadership and production as motivating factors behind choosing him as the Lions’ non-QB MVP at this point.
“Williams embodies the spirit of what the Lions are trying to build with grit and has been available in every game for the Lions this season,” Woodyard wrote. “He is off to the best start of his six-year career with eight touchdowns, third most in the league behind only Cleveland’s Chubb and Tennessee’s Henry.
“He still isn’t satisfied, however. ‘I’ve always been training myself to handle these types of workloads and these types of seasons,’ Williams told ESPN. ‘I’ve always had the mindset for it.’”
Williams is averaging a career-best 4.3 yards per carry this season, and that includes a career-long 51-yard touchdown run in an earlier loss to Seattle.
He is on pace for his first 1,000-yard rushing season, though that could change if the team’s lead back to start the year, D’Andre Swift, starts to take back the bulk of the carries.
Swift missed three games due to injury earlier this year, though at this point Williams has almost 100 more rushing attempts and nearly 300 rushing yards more than the oft-injured Swift, who’s run for 247 yards and one touchdown on 34 carries.
Four times this season, Williams has ran for two touchdowns in a game, and his 108-yard rushing effort against the Seahawks was his first 100-yard rushing game since October 2019.
“I’m just grateful for what’s came so far, and I know there’s so much more for me to go get so I’m not satisfied with nothing, but I’m humble at the same time for all the things I’ve accomplished,” Williams told Woodyard.
Full Story from the Deseret News...
Duane Burleson, Associated Press
Jamaal Williams is having a career year for the Detroit Lions.
The sixth-year running back out of BYU has rushed for 545 yards and eight touchdowns at the season’s midpoint.
He’s currently 16th in the NFL in rushing yards and third in rushing touchdowns.
Williams needs just 57 rushing yards to surpass his previous season-high numbers — he ran for 601 yards last year — and his touchdown total is already double his previous best, when he ran for four touchdowns as a rookie for Green Bay in 2017.
Related
- Is it Jamaal Williams time in Detroit?
- Jamaal Williams isn’t just helping your fantasy team. He’s making some history, too
Is the 27-year-old Williams one of the Lions’ most important players this season?
ESPN’s Eric Woodyard makes that case.
This week as a part of ESPN’s NFL power rankings, they had the organization’s team beat writers identify each program’s MVP at midseason, with one caveat: it couldn’t be a quarterback.
Woodyard chose Williams.
What makes Jamaal Williams the Detroit Lions’ non-QB MVP?
Woodyard, who used to work as the Deseret News’ Utah Jazz beat writer, identified Williams’ leadership and production as motivating factors behind choosing him as the Lions’ non-QB MVP at this point.
“Williams embodies the spirit of what the Lions are trying to build with grit and has been available in every game for the Lions this season,” Woodyard wrote. “He is off to the best start of his six-year career with eight touchdowns, third most in the league behind only Cleveland’s Chubb and Tennessee’s Henry.
“He still isn’t satisfied, however. ‘I’ve always been training myself to handle these types of workloads and these types of seasons,’ Williams told ESPN. ‘I’ve always had the mindset for it.’”
What has Jamaal Williams done in the 2022 season?
Williams is averaging a career-best 4.3 yards per carry this season, and that includes a career-long 51-yard touchdown run in an earlier loss to Seattle.
He is on pace for his first 1,000-yard rushing season, though that could change if the team’s lead back to start the year, D’Andre Swift, starts to take back the bulk of the carries.
Swift missed three games due to injury earlier this year, though at this point Williams has almost 100 more rushing attempts and nearly 300 rushing yards more than the oft-injured Swift, who’s run for 247 yards and one touchdown on 34 carries.
Four times this season, Williams has ran for two touchdowns in a game, and his 108-yard rushing effort against the Seahawks was his first 100-yard rushing game since October 2019.
“I’m just grateful for what’s came so far, and I know there’s so much more for me to go get so I’m not satisfied with nothing, but I’m humble at the same time for all the things I’ve accomplished,” Williams told Woodyard.
Full Story from the Deseret News...