The smartest thing a young player like Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaiah Williams can do, especially an undrafted player trying to make the roster, is attach himself to a veteran like fellow receiver Kalif Raymond.

An undrafted and undersized player himself coming out of Holy Cross in 2016, Raymond has carved out an important role in Detroit after bouncing around the league early, and has done so with a foundation of hard work.

Raymond is one of the hardest workers on the Lions’ roster, usually the last player off the field after practice after running extra routes and catching footballs off the jugs machine. Williams has taken the same approach. He couldn’t say enough good things about the work Raymond’s done with him after catching four passes for 35 yards to lead the Lions in receiving in Thursday night’s 14-3 loss to the New York Giants in his preseason debut.

“I remember my first day of OTAs, after OTAs we practiced and I talked to Kalif and I was asking him questions and he literally gave me a rundown of everything,” Williams said.

“Like, ‘This is what OTAs is going to be like. When you get back from OTAs, expect this. When you go into the offseason, make sure you’re doing this.’ He literally told me, ‘ok, when camp starts, you’re not going to get that many punts in actual practice.’ That’s why after practice we are catching punts because during practice I don’t really get that much. He said, ‘In a game, you’re going to get thrown in there.’ That’s what happened.”

Williams was asked to return punts in the preseason opener and though both resulted in a fair catch, he was smooth catching both.

Raymond’s advice has allowed Williams to be a little ahead of the curve.

At 5-foot-10, 186 pounds, Williams went undrafted after running the 40-yard dash in 4.63 seconds at the Scouting Combine and 4.57 seconds at his pro day, despite catching 82 passes in each of the last two season at Illinois, leading the Big Ten in that department in 2023. He plays faster than those times indicate.

“I feel the biggest thing has been the details. Like at this level you really have to be detailed, especially for a guy like me,” Williams said after the Giants game. “I’m under-sized so I have to be super detailed and make sure I’m at the right spot at the right time and just be quarterback-friendly.”

That’s where the work with Raymond comes in the most. Raymond has become that guy for this offense and for coordinator Dave Fipp on special teams. It says a lot about Raymond’s character for him to take a young player like Williams at the same position under his wing.

“He’s like a big brother to me,” Williams said of Raymond. “Somebody I look up to. Somebody that I study all the time. He’s just a good dude. Even beyond football as a person. I look up to him as a person. How he carries himself. Man, I can’t say enough good things about that dude. He’s a real solid dude.

“Even before the game he told me, ‘I’m going to give you one thing today, bro. Run every single route like you’re going to get the ball. Every single route.’ I mean, it paid off. Everything he tells me, it’s great advice and it pays off.”

Williams is competing for inclusion on the initial 53-man roster for the last couple spots at wide receiver, but also the 16-man practice squad, which is an undervalued avenue to the 53-man roster.

Williams has done the smart thing to attach himself to Raymond and it’s been good for him through three weeks of training camp and the first preseason game. If he continues to perform like he did in New Jersey and catch the eye of the coaching staff, he’ll be in the conversation at the end of the month for inclusion on this football team.