ST. LOUIS – Days before the new NFL season kicks off, it seems the Detroit Lions have a special affinity for athletes from the St. Louis region.
The 2024 NFL season will be the ninth since NFL Rams franchise departed St. Louis for Los Angeles. There’s a chance some St. Louis-area football fans are still searching for a team to cheer on, and the Detroit Lions make an intriguing case.
The Lions, also the NFC runner-ups last season, will begin their 2024 campaign with six athletes who hail from the St. Louis area.
The longest-tenured player from the St. Louis region on the Lions is punter Jack Fox. Fox attended Ladue Horton Watkins High School in St. Louis before moving to Houston, Texas, to attend Rice University.
Fox went undrafted out of college and signed as a free agent with the Lions in 2020, where he has remained since.
Wide receiver Jameson Williams, nicknamed ‘Jamo’, is the second-longest-tenured player on the Lions after the team drafted him 12th overall in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Jamo was born in St. Louis and attended Cardinal Ritter College Prep.
The speedy receiver was a standout receiver during his time at the University of Alabama after transferring from Ohio State in 2021. After being drafted, Jamo had to ease his way into the Lions rotation after missing time after suffering a torn ACL in the 2022 National Championship Game against Georgia.
Since making his debut with the Lions in December 2022, in which he scored a 41-yard touchdown on his very first catch, Williams has continued to show growth in his role, rising to #2 on the Lions depth chart only behind All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Tight end Sam LaPorta is entering his second year with the Lions after his rookie year ended with a loss in the 2024 NFC Championship.
LaPorta is a product of Highland High School in Illinois and attended the University of Iowa before being drafted 34th overall in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. LaPorta took the league by storm in his rookie year after scoring double-digit touchdown passes and breaking the league record for most receptions by a rookie tight end, a record originally set in 1988.
Guard Michael Niese is returning to the Lions for his second season after signing with the team in 2023. Niese was born in Chesterfield and attended St. Louis University High School. Out of high school, Niese attended the University of Dayton for four years and later finished his college career at Temple University. Niese went undrafted in 2022 and had stops in Chicago and Denver before finding a home with the Lions.
After featuring four athletes from the St. Louis region during their 2024 campaign that ended with a loss against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game in January, the Detroit Lions brought in two additional St. Louis athletes during the offseason; Defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo, drafted 6th round out of LSU, and wide receiver Isaiah Williams, who went undrafted out of Illinois.
Wingo was born in St. Louis and attended De Smet Jesuit High School before attending the University of Missouri. Wingo would only spent one season with Mizzou before transferring to LSU for his sophomore and junior seasons, where he made third team All-America in 2022.
Isaiah Williams was born in St. Louis and attended Trinity Catholic High School. Williams joins fellow Lions wide receiver and lifelong friend, Jameson Williams, with whom he used to run 100-meter dashes against at the Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club track and field team, according to 247 Sports.
Williams was a standout wide receiver at the University of Illinois after playing two seasons prior as a quarterback. After making the switch to WR in 2022, Williams led the team in receptions and receiving yards during both the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
As a St. Louis fan, if your still looking for a new NFL team to root for, the Detroit Lions are definitely making their case with athletes throughout the St. Louis region.
