Tyleik Williams gains Lions' trust through accountability with weight management

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Allen Park — Maybe not in the traditional sense, but the theme of Tyleik Williams’ offseason was addition by subtraction.

Recognizing that he’d let his weight get away from him during and the months following his rookie campaign, the Detroit Lions defensive tackle announced on social media this week that he’d dropped 50 pounds.

The commitment to losing the weight brought gained trust from Detroit’s coaching staff.

“Really proud of him,” coach Dan Campbell said on Thursday. “He’s a man of his word. Before we drafted him, we sat up there, (general manager) Brad (Holmes) and I did say, ‘Is there going to be an issue with your weight ever?’ (He said,) ‘No.’ He came in, he noticed that he was a little bit heavy in the spring, came in two weeks before our program even started and was pretty heavy and said, 'Hey man, I want to get this right.' And he put in the work.

“(Director of performance nutrition) Scott (Nealon) did a hell of a job with him,” Campbell continued. “And then he’s just put the work in. And I’ll tell you what, man, he’s a man of his word. Came in 325 (pounds), made his weight, crushed the conditioning test. And like I told him, told the team, now he’s put some money in the bank of trust.”

Williams has declined interview requests the first two days of training camp, but if his social post and the current weight are accurate, that means Williams tipped the scales at more than 370 pounds in February. That’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility.

Williams went through similar struggles with his weight while at Ohio State. Recruited to the school at 270 pounds, he ballooned to 360 pounds during the COVID-19 pandemic, when meetings were virtual, limiting the ability for the coaching/training staffs to hold players accountable.

Williams obviously turned things around with the Buckeyes, getting back under 320 pounds while building a resume that led to him being selected No. 28 overall by the Lions a year ago.

Williams weighed a little more than 330 before the draft and climbed over 340 pounds ahead of his rookie season while missing some early offseason practices. It’s unclear how the weight gain progressed the next few months, but Williams acknowledged on Twitter he was not close to his listed playing weight, 328, at the end of the season.

Williams opened his rookie season as a starter, filling in for Alim McNeill while he was rehabbing his way back from a torn ACL. Once he returned to the lineup, Williams playing time oscillated, dipping to a season-low eight snaps in the team’s Week 10 win over Washington before jumping to a season-high 45 reps two weeks later.

His role stabilized down the stretch, with Williams logging between 19-23 snaps the final five games. He’s expected to play a larger role this season. He’s projected to start alongside McNeill, backfilling the spot previously held by DJ Reader.

Back down to 325 pounds, which Campbell said is where the team wants Williams, the coach said there’s opportunity for expanded playing time, particularly on third downs.

“Certainly, we’re open to that,” Campbell said. “We like Tyleik. We absolutely know there’s a role for him and there’s something that he can do for us that we feel like really helps us. But can it be even more than that? Yeah, our eyes are open.”

Campbell’s praise for Williams ran in contrast to the coach’s frustration for offensive tackle Giovanni Manu. The third-year player was placed on the non-football injury list on Wednesday, after practicing earlier in the day.

“He had an injury, a previous injury over the summer that was not disclosed,” Campbell said. “Came off the practice field, didn't feel good, got it checked, sure enough, that's what it was. So, he will be out for a period of time, I don't know how long that's going to be, call it 12 weeks, 14 weeks. I don't know, we'll figure it out all down the road, but he is (on) NFI.”

If Manu ends up missing months, as projected, it could potentially lead to the end of his time in Detroit. The former fourth-round pick and developmental project was already pinned to fourth on the offensive tackle depth chart following the offseason additions of Blake Miller in the draft and Larry Borom via free agency.

Manu had been expected to work at both tackle and guard during training camp in hopes of carving out a depth role. Manu still has a year remaining on his contract beyond this season, but no lingering guarantees.