After a rocky start to his career, wide receiver Jameson Williams has emerged as a key part of the Detroit Lions' offense over the last two seasons. Spurred by tight end Sam LaPorta's late-season absence, and Dan Campbell taking over the offensive play-calling, he set career-highs in catches (65) and yards (1,117) last year while maintaining a yards per-catch average north of 17.0.
After executing an offseason plan to work on an area of his game he knew he needed to work on after some rough spots last season, it's worth wondering if Williams has yet another level in him this year. If nothing else, he should be way more consistent game-to-game than he has been.
Despite his boost in production, some good fortune has been required for Williams' fantasy managers when it comes to weekly decisions to start him over the last two seasons. But coming off a season where he finished as a WR1 (top-12), regardless of scoring format, those past (and well-founded) inconsistency narratives may have to be set aside if Williams has cleaned up the drops issue that impacted him last season.
Williams is among a number of Lions' players who do a lot of great and visible work in the Detroit community. On Sunday, at the Second Annual "Jamo Day" back to school-themed event, ESPN's Eric Woodyard asked him why fantasy drafters should take him this year.
“I’m the best. It’s self-explanatory,” Williams said, through a laugh.
Is Jameson Williams a good fantasy option this season? I asked the #Lions WR why should he be drafted early this year… 👀 “I’m the best. It’s self-explanatory,” Williams said, laughing. pic.twitter.com/qCMAfqJwHR
— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) August 23, 2026
Jameson Williams' 2026 ADP has not quite caught up to his two-year track record
As of this writing, per Fantasy Pros, Williams' Average Draft Position (ADP) in ESPN fantasy leagues (full PPR scoring) is WR26 (No.58 overall). In Yahoo! leagues (0.5-point PPR scoring), his ADP is also WR26 (No. 60 overall). Fantasy Football Calculator ADP also has him outside the top-20 wide receivers in 0.5 and full-point PPR, albeit with a notable bump in standard scoring ADP (WR15).
So on two of the most popular fantasy platforms, in 12-team leagues, Williams is being drafted as a high-end WR3 late in the fifth round. Even lingering skeptics have to note that as odd, and a potential value opportunity is there to take advantage of if specific drafts unfold that way.
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In 2024, his breakthrough campaign, with a wide range depending on scoring format, Williams was a top-25 fantasy wide receiver regardless of scoring format. Right now, he's practically being drafted as if last season didn't happen.
Williams bold, tongue-in-cheek advice should be taken as gospel by fantasy managers. However it did inspire a deeper dive into his outlook for this year, and lead to exposing a notable value deficiency during the teeth of draft season.
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