Every time Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Reggie Williams catches a touchdown pass, he punctuates the score with an impromptu dance.
No two are alike.
“Whatever pops into my mind, whatever spirit catches me, that’s what I do,” he said.
One of the best pieces of news in Jacksonville this year is that Williams’ mind is working overtime. In his first two seasons, Williams caught one touchdown pass, a startlingly low number for a first-rounder. He doubled that number in a season-opening win over Dallas.
Now, five games into his third season with the Jaguars, he has shed the label of “bust.” In the process, he has helped an offense that used to rely on one receiver to become more diverse–and possibly better.
“The things I’m doing now I’ve done before, just not here,” he said. “I think I’m just scratching the surface of what I can do. My first couple years, I wasn’t asked to do all that much. Now they want me to do more.”
The Jaguars picked Williams ninth overall out of Washington in 2004. But he joined a team that had a security blanket of sorts in wide receiver Jimmy Smith.
He also joined an organization that needed time to understand that not every 6-foot-4-inch receiver has the same skill set as Randy Moss.
After averaging 31 catches his first two season, Williams now stands as the biggest surprise on the Jaguars’ roster this season. A player seemingly destined to be the local poster boy for draft busts, Williams now is the Jags’ top receiver.
“The thing that was maybe never fully appreciated or understood is that when Jimmy Smith was here, the offense went through Jimmy,” Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. “And Jimmy is not here. So those balls are going to go other places. . . . Reggie has been able to take advantage of that.”
Williams leads the team in catches (24) and in third-down receptions (seven), and is tied for the lead in TD catches (four). Those were standings previously reserved for Smith, who retired in May.
“Nothing he has done has surprised me,” wide receiver Ernest Wilford said of Williams. “We’ve seen this coming. We saw it his first couple years, but back then he wasn’t the No. 1 guy.”
Injuries to Matt Jones (an ankle sprain, followed by groin and hamstring pulls) and rookie tight end Marcedes Lewis (high ankle sprain) have made for a clear path from quarterback Byron Leftwich’s arm to Williams’ hands.
“I’ve always had confidence in Reggie,” Leftwich said. “He’s a better player than he was last year and the year before, but I’m a better player too. We’re all better players or we wouldn’t be here. But with Reggie, it’s just that he’s finally getting the chances to make plays.
“He wasn’t asked to make many plays before. Now, we’re asking.”
Leftwich and others suggest that time has helped both Williams and the Jaguars’ offense, one that has put up 71 points the past two games. This is the second season under offensive coordinator Carl Smith’s reign. It took some time for everything to soak in.
“When you know what you’re doing out there and you know that you know, it’s so much fun just to play football,” Williams said. “You don’t have to think about things. You just run and react.
“I’m having a lot of fun, man,” Williams said. “I love coming to practice. And if you like coming to practice Monday through Saturday, Sundays are a lot of fun.”
Especially when you have to create new dances every week.
