2022 Fantasy Football season review: Lions running back Jamaal Williams

Jamaal Williams had a fantastic 2022 season for the Detroit Lions, but how did it flesh out from a fantasy perspective?

After all the breakout hope for D’Andre Swift, it was Jamaal Williams who led the Detroit Lions rushing attack this season. He was the franchise’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2013, and he set the franchise record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 17.

In standard fantasy scoring (through Week 18), Williams was RB7 (RB9 through Week 17). In 0.5-point PPR he was RB12 (through Week 17), and in full PPR he was RB15 (through Week 17). Having just 12 catches for 73 yards all season will do that to someone’s finish in PPR formats.

Let’s go week-by-week with Williams’ weekly fantasy finishes (standard scoring).

2022 Fantasy Football season review: Lions running back Jamaal Williams

Week 1: RB11
Week 2: RB35
Week 3: RB2
Week 4: RB5
Week 5: RB39
Week 6: Bye
Week 7: RB33
Week 8: RB9
Week 9: RB17
Week 10: RB15
Week 11: RB3
Week 12: RB26
Week 13: RB22
Week 14: RB37
Week 15: RB47
Week 16: RB63
Week 17: RB4
Week 18: RB1

It’s pretty clear which games Williams scored in and which he didn’t. He scored multiple touchdowns in six of 17 games (he scored in 10 games overall), and the last multi-score game (Week 18) didn’t matter in a lot of leagues. He reached double-digit fantasy points once in game he didn’t score in, with the help of a two-point conversion to get 10.1 points.

Even with a couple bumps in the road, Williams paid off nicely for his fantasy managers through Week 13 (RB8 in standard scoring). But that run from Week 14-16, where he totaled 81 rushing yards in three games and did not score in any of them, probably crushed the league title dreams of many who started him. But his Week 17 rebound probably helped win a few third-place games.

Williams is a free agent, and the Lions will almost certainly re-sign him as long as the price is right. As for his 2023 fantasy outlook, early right now and all the way to draft time no matter who he’s playing for, expect a healthy dose of regression. Topping 1,000 yards is one thing as unlikely to be repeated, but 17 touchdowns is absolutely not happening again for Williams.