They did not know each other before signing with the Detroit Lions as undrafted free agents, but Jalon Calhoun and Isaiah Williams formed an instant bond the minute they met on check-in day at rookie minicamp.

Calhoun and Williams were headed for the jugs machine at the same time, determined to get some extra work in before their first practice as Lions.

They caught passes and struck up a conversation, and by the time they finished 30 or so minutes later, they knew they'd be each other's biggest supporters and competition.

"We just kind of clicked," Calhoun said after a recent organized team activity practice in Allen Park. "There was other receivers here, like other receivers during rookie minicamp, but we just clicked."

"Instantly," said Williams. "First day when we was in there on the Jugs, I already knew in my head he’s going to be a dog."

Williams, a converted quarterback who played every receiver position at Illinois, and Calhoun, a slot receiver at Duke who also has return ability, are two of 12 receivers on the Lions' current roster and among a group of players competing for roles behind starters Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams.

They were the last players off the field after the Lions' open OTA workout last Thursday, and each have their own St. Brown-like ritual they go through after every practice on the Jugs machine.

St. Brown, now one of the best receivers in the NFL, first caught reporters' attention as a rookie in 2021 when he caught 202 passes off a Jugs every day in training camp. Neither Calhoun nor Williams has a set number of catches post-practice, but both go through a series of catching balls from short distances with their body contorted in a variety of positions.

"You just got to get better every day, separate yourself from others," Calhoun said. "The extra work’s going to separate yourself. I know me and Zay, every day after practice we’re catching Jugs, we’re going to go through the script, if we did have a mistake. Just trying to separate ourselves, getting extra work in."

Williams said he started his post-practice Jugs routine when he moved from quarterback to receiver in 2021. George McDonald, Illinois' receiver coach at the time, suggested he catch 400 extra passes a day, and Williams did that for one season before scaling back his workload to concentrate on more targeted areas.

Now, he makes dozens of catches a day from mostly stationary positions, mimicking the angle his body would be at on slant routes, seam routes, curls and over-the-shoulder catches from both side of the field. If he has a drop or isn't happy with a play he made in practice, he puts in extra time on that route.

Calhoun, similarly, catches passes around the orbit of his body, from low by his feet to up above his head. He usually catches more than 100 a day, and last Thursday both players fielded punts with the rest of the Lions' return men before heading to the Jugs.

"That’s the biggest thing for me, I don’t want to make the same mistake twice," Williams said. "I might mess up right here, but then tomorrow like, 'Coach, OK, I fixed it. I did this.' And just letting him know we're learning on the go."

Calhoun, who called Williams "my twin," said the two are learning on the go together and pushing each other to do more.

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Both will need strong training camps to crack the 53-man roster. The Lions also return veterans Kalif Raymond and Donovan Peoples-Jones as backup receivers, remain high on last year's sixth-round pick, Antoine Green, and have a handful of other pass catchers competing for jobs, including Tre'Quan Smith, Tom Kennedy and Daurice Fountain.

And neither is content with where he's at now.

"I want to be great and I know he wants to be great," Williams said. "I know I’m undrafted and I know it’s a long way, but I want to be the best football player on this team. I’m not here just to be here and I know I got a long ways to go, but I didn’t come here to be normal, so I’m not going to do what everybody else do. I’m going to stick to my routine, I’m going to get better every day and eventually, like, hopefully become the best player."

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions' Jalon Calhoun, Isaiah Williams chasing roster spot, each other