Jamaal Williams has legit RB1 upside in fantasy for Week 10 against the Bears

With D’Andre Swift a question mark, Jamaal Williams is in a smash spot for his fantasy managers in Week 10.

Even with knowing his nose for the end zone this season, and driven by it, it may be surprising to see Detroit Lions running back Jamaal Williams as RB10 in standard fantasy scoring through Week 9.

D’Andre Swift has been banged up since Week 1, and Williams has stepped in. His 126 carries are nearly two-thirds of Detroit’s backfield workload, and via Justin Rogers of the Detroit News head coach Dan Campbell lauded Williams’ consistency.

"I love dependability,” Campbell said. “I love to know what a player brings to the table. He is one of our most consistent players week in and week out. You know exactly what you’re going to get out of him. You know exactly what he’s going to do for you, the production in the run game…"

Swift played just 10 snaps against Green Bay last week, and if he’s not going to play more against the Chicago Bears this week even having him active makes little sense.

Still, Williams is a nice spot this week.

Jamaal Williams has RB1 upside in fantasy for Week 10 vs. Bears

Williams didn’t score a touchdown against his former team in Week 9. But he did set a career-high with 24 carries, as he put up 81 yards and scored a two-point conversion.

The Bears enter Week 10 allowing the fifth-most fantasy points per game to running backs (Yahoo!, 0.5-point PPR). They are allowing the sixth-most rushing yards per game to running backs (112.8), and 4.8 yards a carry to the position. Oh, and they’ve allowed 12 total touchdowns to running backs this season (10 rushing).

If Swift takes more snaps on Sunday, Williams is still the preferred goal line back for the Lions and the game is lined up to be fairly high scoring. Even a drop to something like 17 carries would line Williams up for 70-80 yards on the ground against the Bears, with a solid chance at a touchdown.

Based on a solid opportunity floor and the prospect of a touchdown (or two), Williams is a practical lock to be in the lineup for his fantasy managers every week. In Week 10, though Swift taking more work is a looming threat, Williams has top-12 RB upside in a nice matchup.