Jameson Williams unsurprisingly on early list of fantasy football breakout candidates for 2024

After he earned more playing time late in his second season, Lions head coach Dan Campbell has set some expectations for wide receiver Jameson Williams as he moves toward his third season.

By the end of the year, we really felt like he started to come into his own,” Campbell said at the NFL Combine this past week. “He’s going to be push to be a full-time starter now, and that’s what we’re looking for....As long as he gets back and puts the work in like we believe he will because he’s shown that, he’s only going to get better and better and better.”

The curve has been altered lately, but the idea of a "third-year breakout" for wide receivers used to be a big thing in fantasy football. Williams, with a knee injury in his final college game impacting his rookie season and gambling suspension delaying the start of his second season, is on that track.

Jameson Williams naturally on early list of fantasy football breakout candidates

It's frankly very easy to point to Williams as a fantasy breakout candidate for 2024. There are justified concerns in that light, since he is unlikely to be a target hog in the Lions' offense and thus week-to-week consistency stands to be a thing. But the potential is definitely there, and Williams has earned an opportunity for a larger role.

Kyle Soppe of Pro Football Network has Williams on his early list of "Players That Will Take a Leap for Fantasy Football in 2024." That's a way to say "breakout candidates."

"We know that Williams has the speed to burn and can break any game open with a single play, but could we be heading into a breakout season that sees him establishing himself as a consistent lineup option? I think so, and the Detroit Lions are clearly interested in giving him every chance to succeed."

'WR Josh Reynolds is an unrestricted free agent this offseason and the depth at the position is questionable at best. I expect Williams’ name to be popular on lists like this — I don’t care. I don’t mind inching him up in my rankings in an effort to be ahead of consensus and land this developing talent."

Soppe noted how Williams ran a route on 76.5 percent of dropbacks during the Lions' three playoff games, which is promising.

Williams' ADP is going to be worth watching as the offseason goes along, and there is a point where he'd become overvalued. But if he stays in WR4 or WR5 range, he'll be a fine late-round flier in 12-team leagues.