Lions couldn't pass up chance to grab 'game-changer' WR Jameson Williams
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Eric WoodyardESPN
ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Once Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes and the front office identified their top prospects ahead of last weekend’s NFL draft, they began gauging the possibility of trading up to acquire a second high pick on Day 1.
But not just for anyone, it had to be for a “game-changer,” Holmes said.
With the No. 2 overall selection Thursday, the Lions drafted Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. Then Holmes got aggressive and traded up 20 spots, from No. 32, to take Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams with the 12th pick.
Game-changer secured.
“This guy’s gritty. He’s a dog. He loves football. He just fit what we’re about,” said Holmes, who acquired the pick from the Minnesota Vikings. “Once the conviction and the buy-in kept rising, then I started saying, ‘OK, alright, maybe being that he’s one of those guys that we had graded similarly, very evenly up at the top, let’s go get him.’”
• The move was a surprise to many fans and draft experts, but the Lions are trying to put a group of explosive offensive weapons around quarterback
