Fantasy Football 2022: Top 5 Detroit Lions
By Zach Payne
5. WR Jameson Williams
If this were strictly a dynasty ranking, Williams would sit at the top and it might not be all that close.
Coming off an ACL tear, Williams is not expected to be ready for the start of training camp. It’s possible he starts the season on the PUP list, which would prolong his NFL debut for at least the first month of the season.
Once he does return to the field, he likely still won’t have 100 percent of his explosiveness back. Not to mention he will still have to adjust to the NFL. It’s possible we don’t see a fully healthy, unrestricted Williams until Week 1 of the 2023 season.
The good news is we already have the blueprint for a Lions’ rookie receiver being slowly brought up to speed before being let loose. That of course was Amon-Ra St. Brown last season.
Expecting Williams to have a St. Brown-like level of dominance at the end of the season is obviously extreme and in all likelihood will not happen. What might happen is Williams becoming a starter and a vital piece of the offense in the final few weeks, which would be similar to St. Brown.
So what does all this mean? In a nutshell, Williams is someone who you either draft in the later rounds and stash until he’s back healthy, or someone you scan the waiver wire for before the fantasy playoffs get started. There will be many leagues where Williams gets dropped after a slow start coming back from injury, or he goes totally undrafted. Opportunistic managers could snag some nice upside potential off the wire before starting a championship push.