Adam Gagnon/CFL.ca
The pass arched into the end zone where D’haquille Williams jockeyed for position against two defenders.
Long arms snaked into the air and two sure hands latched onto the ball. Williams tucked the ball under his arm, threw his head back and unleashed a triumph laugh.
It was only an Edmonton Eskimo practice but Williams, nicknamed Duke because some people mispronounce his first name, was having fun.
“All our guys are like that, they love football,” quarterback Mike Reilly said with a smile. “Duke is the epitome of that. You watch him out there, he’s joking around with guys, smiling laughing, having a good time.”
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In just his second year as an Eskimo receiver, Williams already has a veteran’s poise about him.
“I’m comfortable this year,” said Williams. “Everything I did last year I just carried over and figured I would have to get better.
“Now I’m just having fun. When you’re having fun you’re playing your best. I feel like I’m playing my best ball, but I also feel like I can get better.”
The Eskimos faced some questions when they started the campaign without Brandon Zylstra, who signed with the NFL Minnesota Vikings after leading the CFL last year with 1,687 receiving yards, and Adarius Bowman, who went to Winnipeg after seven seasons in Edmonton before being traded to Montreal this week. Williams and Derel Walker more than supplied the answers.
“Those two guys can fill the void for about anybody,” said Edmonton head coach Jason Maas.
With Edmonton coming off a bye week Williams and Walker are ranked first and third among CFL receivers.
Williams has been targeted a league-high 54 times. He’s made 31 catches for a CFL-leading 556 yards and three touchdowns. He also is tied with 12 catches for second-down conversations.
Walker has 27 catches for 386 yards and three touchdowns. He also tops the league with a 101-yard gain for a touchdown.
Reilly, who leads the league with 123 completions on 182 passes for 1,648 yards and nine touchdowns, said he wasn’t concerned about the void created by the departure of Zylstra and Bowman.
“We weren’t worried about it at all,” he said. “Those were tough guys to lose but they are not as tough to lose when you know what is coming down the pipeline.”
At six-foot-three and 225 pounds Williams is a big target. In his rookie season, the Los Angeles native had 46 catches for 715 yards and four touchdowns. He led the Eskimos with nine catches for 123 yards and a touchdown in their July 13 win over Toronto.
Over the winter the 25-year-old Williams lost some weight and worked on his fitness. Having a season under his belt gave him a better understanding for the league.
“The CFL game is different,” said Maas. “I think he took it to heart how his body felt at the end of the year and what he needed to improve on.
“He’s a big physical receiver. He’s learning to use his body a little bit better, know the waggle, known what he can get way with and how he can utilize his strengths. He’s done nothing but take off from where he left off and has just gotten better.”
Walker, 27, joined the Eskimos in 2015. Over the next two years, he hauled in 198 catches for 1,699 yards and 16 touchdowns plus helped Edmonton win a Grey Cup.
In 2017 the six-foot-two, 188-pound Hillsboro, Tex., native signed with the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was released in September and rejoined the Eskimos. Over the next eight games had 48 catches for 634 yards and two touchdowns.
“Coming back from the NFL is always a little different,” said Maas. “You have to get acclimated into the game. He still was a major contributor down the stretch. He’s done nothing but be what we’ve asked of him to be this year.”
Williams credits Walker with helping to make him a better receiver.
“He’s special,” said Williams. “He probably doesn’t know but I look up to him.
“I always listen to (him) because he’s looking for the best in me. He wants me to be great. Every time I have a question I ask him, and he comes through for me.”
Derel Walker currently ranks third in the CFL in receiving yards and has taken Duke Williams under his wing, as his teammate leads the league in the same category. (Johany Jutras, CFL.ca)
Walker said while Williams likes to laugh and have fun he’s also matured.
“When Duke came back this year you could tell there was a different presence about him,” he said. “He wanted to get better. As a man I could see him grow from last year to this year.”
Walker often lines up as a wide receiver and Williams as a slotback on the same side of the field. That gives Reilly plenty of targets and creates decisions for defences.
“They can’t guard both of us,” said Williams. “If they take way one, we have another one.
“That’s for the defences to figure out, but we’re having fun with it. We just are trying to apply more pressure.”
The Eskimos (3-2) travel to Montreal where they play the Alouettes (1-4) Thursday.
The Alouettes were busy this week acquiring former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel from Hamilton and Bowman in separate trades.
Manziel has had just a couple days to learn the Montreal system but Maas wouldn’t be surprised if he saw some action against Edmonton.
“I think the expectations are you might,” he said. “We’re focused on their system, their team, not necessarily one individual.
“We saw him play in the pre-season to get a kind of glimpse into what he brings to the table.”
Walker caught passes from Manziel when the two were college teammates at Texas A&M.
“I’m hoping everything turns out positive for him,” said Walker. “I’m hoping the transaction went very well for him.
“I’m happy he gets another opportunity to produce and do what he does. It would be nice to see him get out there and run around a little bit, let our defence get a hold of him.
