The Detroit Lions have been playing their best football of the season these past few weeks, and now they are getting back their first-round receiver and star pass rusher. Let’s talk about how both of these guys will affect this Lions team this week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and for the rest of the season.
How Will Getting These Guys Back Affect This Week?
This week it’s tough to tell how much the coaches will have them playing since they are coming fresh off bad injuries, but they will still likely impact the game. Out of Romeo Okwara, you could probably expect him to play around 40% of snaps this week due to the Lions recently placing Charles Harris and Julian Okwara on Injury Reserved. The reason he likely won’t play more than that is that he’s coming off an Achilles tear, plus the Lions are getting Josh Paschal back and will be giving James Houston more playing time. Romeo Okwara will probably not be what he was instantly in this game, but it would not be surprising to see him with a few pressures and maybe even a sack.
Jameson Williams probably won’t be seeing the field nearly as much as Romeo Okwara is, even though the Lions are getting both of them back at the same time, due to Jameson Williams’ being more recent. Even though he probably won’t be getting as much playing time this week as Okwara, Williams could have a similar or bigger impact than Okwara this week, purely because of what he brings to the table. Jameson will bring a decoy if he’s not fully ready yet and if he is he could pull off a few highlight plays. Overall this week I don’t expect much out of getting these guys back, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they lit it up.
How Will They Affect The Rest Of The Season?
With Charles Harris likely down for the rest of the year, Okwara couldn’t have been activated at a more perfect time. Once Okwara gets back into the speed of things, he could possibly do what he was doing in 2020 that earned his 13 million dollars a year deal and consistently get pressure. He will also compliment Aidan Hutchinson extremely well if he continues as he left off and be easily the best pass rusher Hutchinson has had on the other side of him since joining Detroit. If he returns to what he was, Detroit’s pass rush could be special.
Jameson Williams is extremely excited to finally have out on the field and could end up playing like the best receiver in his class to finish out the year. The Lions have never really had a receiver with the skill set that he has, he has game-breaking speed and the ability to cut upfield with ease. His deep-threat ability will open up the offense a lot and create opportunities not just for himself, but for everyone else on the field too because teams will have to gameplan for his speed. He has the upside to be a true number-one wide receiver, and is and will help this playoff push immensely.
With all that being said even though they probably won’t make too much of an impact this week, in a game the Lions should probably win anyway, they could not have come back at a better time for the team. Also, the skills they bring to the team will not only elevate the game of their teammates but will open up a whole new way for the coaches can run the team for now and in the future.
