It's no secret that last season was a disappointing rookie campaign for Mike Williams.
A back injury put him behind the eight ball, causing him to miss the entire offseason program and all of training camp. The seventh overall pick in that year's draft made his debut Week 6 in Oakland, but he never truly got on track. After all, it's hard to hit the ground running as a rookie after missing that much time.
Entering his second season, the Bolts are eager to see what a fully healthy Mike Williams can do.
So far, the team has liked what they've seen.
"All I needed to see from him was health," Head Coach Anthony Lynn said on Tuesday. "He looks good. He's having fun."
Perhaps no one spoke more glowingly about last year's first-round pick than Keenan Allen.
"I see a lot of potential (in him)," the Pro Bowler said. "Last year, he had a lot of potential as well, but I could tell he put in a little bit more work this offseason. I think he's ready to go."
The leader of a deep and talented wide receiver corps, KA13 had a lot of good things to say about his fellow wideouts on the first day of OTAs. However, he saved his biggest praise for Williams, who has impressed him all offseason long.
"He wasn't sure about all the plays (last season)," Allen explained. "This year, he acts like he's been in the playbook. When he runs routes, he's on depth. Today, he was more physical when he was getting pressed. He looked good."
Williams gave a candid evaluation of his rookie year in late April, outlining how he's approaching the offseason.
Following a season in which he caught a mere 11 passes for 95 yards in 10 games, the wideout made it clear he's on a mission to redeem himself.
"I'm excited about this year to not only prove to everybody else, but prove to myself that I know who I am and what I can be," he explained. "I'm real confident in my abilities. I wasn't capable of doing what I can do last year because of the injury. This offseason, I feel 100%. I'm ready to go out there and dominate. Everyone faces adversity. It shows what kind of player you are when you can bounce back from adversity. I'm looking to redeem myself and show everyone what I'm capable of doing."
To that point, Williams stressed he is feeling fully healthy, noting the injury impacted him more than he realized throughout the season.
"It's totally different right now," he said. "My body feels a lot different. I'm excited to keep getting out there with my teammates and with Philip (Rivers). We want to get that connection down. Last year, I was able to go out there and play, but I wasn't the Mike Williams I am used to being. I was limited in doing what I can do, and especially limited in what I do best, which is go up and get the ball. My back limited me from doing those types of things. Now my back is right, I'm healthy and feeling great. I'm ready to go out there and show everyone they've got a great player."
