Detroit Lions signed undrafted free agent the rest of the league just forgot to draft

The Detroit Lions signed 15 undrafted free agents after the 2024 NFL Draft. Of those guys, there was one player whose availability at that point was the most shocking and that's Illinois receiver Isaiah Williams. Of all the players the team signed, he was the guy that most felt like a lock to be drafted. 

Williams had a monster 2023 season for the Fighting Ilini. Williams caught 82 passes for 1,055 yards and five touchdowns. He was arguably the best receiver not named Marvin Harrison Jr. in the Big Ten last season. He had the most receptions, the second most yards and the sixth most touchdowns in the conference. What happened? 

A couple things happened. Williams measured up at 5-foot-9 and 182 pounds at the combine. His size was always going to hurt his stock, but he was still someone that was getting mocked in the fifth round in multiple mock drafts. The other problem is that he didn't have the best combine. He ran a 4.63 40-yard dash at the combine and that was over what scouts thought he'd run. He's also only been a receiver for three seasons. He was a quarterback in high school and in his first two seasons at Illinois. 

The reason he's a win for the Lions and the thing that gives him an outside chance to make the 53-man roster is that he is a guy that is hard to take down. He led the Big-Ten in yards after catch in 2023 and was 11th in the nation in forced miss tackles last year. He forced 24 of them. You can see it on his tape, he is as shifty as they come.