It took some time, since his playing time ramped up, but in Week 15 it happened. Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams was targeted often early on his way to seven targets and four catches for 47 yards against the Broncos.
The catches and yardage may not move the needle for some people. But the targets were a career-high, and he played 45 snaps (a 68 percent snap share). He was also targeted on more than just deeper passes, with three catches that moved the chains.
A few weeks ago, heading into Week 12, Williams was a viable fantasy football waiver wire add in the context of being an upside bench stash as his snaps trended up. Week 15 was the first time that playing time yielded much of anything, and it's fair to say there was never a land rush to add him heading toward the fantasy playoffs based on the boom-or-bust element.
Entering Week 16, Williams is rostered in 22 percent of Yahoo! leagues and 12 percent of ESPN leagues.
Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 16: Add Jameson Williams?
Williams has made some waiver wire pickup lists heading into Week 16.
Andy Behrens of Yahoo! Sports:
"Jameson Williams didn't make much fantasy noise on Saturday night, what with Sam LaPorta handling most of the scoring. But Williams did see a career-high seven targets while playing 45 snaps, usage that suggests a mega-week could be on the horizon. With an ADOT of 16.2, any completion to the second-year burner has big-play potential."
"So far, Jameson Williams' NFL career has been a lot of boom and a lot of bust. He's made some big plays at times, but he hadn't really had a game where he saw serious volume...
That changed a little this week. Williams set new season-high marks in targets and receptions with seven and four, respectively. He finished with 47 yards, his third-best mark of the year. There's a lot of mouths to feed in Detroit, but Williams' growing volume makes him an appealing play if you need an injury replacement in Week 16."
In Week 16 Williams will face the Minnesota Vikings, who are allowing the 10th-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season in 0.5-point PPR and the ninth-most in full PPR. So if he gets more than five targets again, there's definitely potential for a noticeable fantasy outing.
But, do you really want to count on that in what is semifinal week in a lot of leagues? The boom-or-bust element still exists with Williams, even if Week 15 looks like a stabilizer and overall a positive sign,
Fantasy managers in need of an injury replacement wide receiver this week in leagues with 12 or more teams can probably find more comfortable options on the waiver wire than Williams. He's merely a flier as a WR3 or flex, with the same wide range of outcomes he has had.