With his debut date unclear, what could Lions rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams do for fantasy managers this year?
Training camps have begun around the NFL, meaning the regular season is just a few weeks away. It also means fantasy football draft season is ramping up.
The Detroit Lions have plenty of interesting players in fantasy this year, depending on your angle. But the player with the most intrigue might be rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams.
Williams is working his way back from a torn ACL in the national title game while playing for Alabama. So it wasn’t a surprise he was placed on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list to start training camp, and there’s a fair chance he misses a few regular season games.
As a sign of his potential, look where Williams sits among some among some notable recent fellow Alabama alums based on what he did in his one season for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama Receiving Yards Per Game Leaders, Since 2010:
— Russell Clay (@RussellJClay) April 4, 2022
(H/T @DavidZach16)
1. Jameson Williams - 104.8
2. Amari Cooper - 91.1
3. Julio Jones - 87.2
4. DeVonta Smith - 84.4
5. Jerry Jeudy - 76.2
6. John Metchie - 69.4
7. Calvin Ridley - 63.2
8. Jaylen Waddle - 58.8 pic.twitter.com/CFmKQmhTVF
Jameson Williams 2022 fantasy football outlook/projection
If fantasy managers have an IR spot to stash Williams for the first portion of the season, then taking a shot on him could pan out nicely. There will be a lot of leagues where Williams goes undrafted due to the injury, and the uncertain workload that awaits him when he does get on the field. But when his debut is looming, he’ll become a hot waiver wire pickup.
Like Amon-Ra St. Brown a year ago, Williams is poised to put out his best work in the season’s final stretch. Williams can’t be expected to dominate the stretch run to the extent St. Brown did last season, but more broadly a league-winning type of difference maker is possible.
The uncertainty with how many games he’ll play, what his workload/snap count will be, etc. makes it hard to easily project Williams’ rookie season numbers. But a relatively safe projection would have him at 3-4 receptions a game on five or six targets per contest. Given his explosiveness, Williams could turn that level of volume into 50-plus yards a game and find the end zone a couple of times overall.
The Lions have a bye in Week 6, so let’s say Williams plays 12 games as a rookie. With that, here’s a viable-looking production projection.
40-45 receptions (60-65 targets), 600-625 yards and 2-4 touchdowns
No matter what happens with Jameson Williams this season, he is worth a late-round flier in fantasy drafts (leagues with 12 or more teams) on his talent and upside alone. Fantasy managers will just need to be patient while they wait for his debut.