Jameson Williams will miss the next 2 weeks for violating the NFL’s Performance-Enhancing Substances (PES) policy.
The news of Jameson’s suspension is a big blow to the breakout Wide Receiver and the surging Lions. Williams, in just 6 games this season, has nearly doubled his career stats. With 361 receiving yards, 3 touchdowns and a staggering 21.2 Yards per Catch (No. 2 in the NFL), Jameson had answered the question of “Who will be Detroit’s number two wide receiver?”.
In his absence, the Lions will look to lean into their Top four rushing offense and super-star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to compensate for the lack of a deep threat. We should expect to see St. Brown receive the lion’s share of the vacated targets and take his already dominating 29.3% target share north of 30%.
There is an interesting opportunity, however, for a struggling Tight End to re-emerge. Sam LaPorta has been a fantasy football bust so far, coming in as the TE21 through 7 weeks after being drafted as the TE1 most of the off-season. Williams is leaving behind a 17.3% target share while LaPorta is at a lowly 9.8% (No. 30). Offensive Coordinator, Ben Johnson will be looking to the young Tight End to get him going again, following his breakout rookie season.
In deeper leagues, Kalif Raymond comes around as an interesting prospect. He looks to slot in to the Jameson Williams role as the field stretcher and offers big-play potential off of the Play-Action pass. In the past two weeks Raymond has earned 10 targets, more than both LaPorta and Jameson combined. He’s no more than a dart throw flex in the deepest of leagues but the way this offense works, there is boom potential waiting to happen.
While this news is a hit to the expected efficiency of the Detroit offense near term, we should still see fantasy boosts to Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta as the primary pass catching options. Not against the Titans in Week 8, but Kalif Raymond will be a sneaky GPP play in DFS Week 9 against the Green Bay Packers in what will be a high-scoring affair.
Justin Owens | @JOwens_FF
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Jameson Williams is the top riser in PlayerProfiler’s Dynasty Deluxe lifetime value rating for the month of September.
Jameson Williams has been long anticipated to be productive in the NFL. Many of his believers were starting to get impatient after a rookie year that was mostly lost due to an injury, followed by a sophomore year where he faced a suspension for gambling and failed to be productive upon his return. However, Williams showed promise in the conference championship game at the end of last season, and also received rave reviews from the Lions coaching staff all offseason that gave us a glimmer of hope for 2024.
In week 1, he proved the Lions coaching staff to be correct, producing 121 receiving yards and a touchdown on 9 targets while playing 81% of the offensive snaps. He was a clear focal point for one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL, and has the potential to be a must-start fantasy asset going forward if he can continue to string together similar performances. Dynasty Managers looking for a high-upside option shouldn’t be afraid to target Williams from current owners who are looking to “sell high” on him after his impressive week 1 performance.
With the Lions greatly needing production behind Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams is emerging in Lions training camp to answer the call.
Jameson Williams has moved up 17.5 spots from prior to the NFL Draft to today. Jameson Williams has crept into the 7th round of drafts on UnderDog.
When considering the burn rate on Jameson Williams, drafters are having to forget that Williams suffered from injury his rookie season and then had a suspension for gambling last season. When it comes to properly onboarding to an NFL team over his short career, this is his first true offseason where Jameson Williams is able to develop where his body and maturity can cooperatively work in tandem.
The appeal for a Jameson Williams breakout is the fact that the Lions want and expect him to take on the role he had last year while carving out the missing production that Josh Reynolds provided last season. When the Lions let Josh Reynolds go in free agency, that was a subtle signal of how the Lions view Williams. Additionally, no true competition has been brought to the team throughout the entirety of the offseason.
In following what the Lions are telling us through their moves and lack thereof all signals point to Jameson Williams filling a much needed void behind stud wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown. Add in that Jameson Williams is cooking in camp, drafters ought to be confident when clicking on Jameson Williams in round 7 of their best ball drafts.
Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell says WR Jameson Williams is a man on a mission.
Detroit Lions WR Jameson Williams thus far has not lived up to expectations coming out of college, whether it’s from recovering from his ACL or his gambling suspension. His 2022 season was mostly a recovery year after tearing his ACL in his last game of his college season. Then last season he was suspended for gambling. This offseason is his first real taste of offseason programs without limitations. Williams has impressed the coaches and team. Head Coach Dan Campbell says, “He’s a man on a mission.” He also has been labeled as the Most Improved at OTAs too.
Williams in terms of Fantasy Football is a good dart throw. The Lions did not add anything in the offseason at wide receiver but did lose Josh Reynolds. He can be good at all aspect of fantasy. Best ball, dynasty, and late in redraft leagues. He is a player to keep an eye out for as the offseason continues.
The NFL has shortened Detroit Lions wide receiver’s gambling suspension to four games, from six, and he will be eligible to play in Week 5.
Detroit Lions wide receiver had been serving a 6 game suspension from NFL play for gambling. It has been announced, in a huge relief to Lions fans and Williams’ fantasy owners, that the NFL changed the penalties in their gambling policy, and Williams would be reinstated early.
The news comes the day after Detroit’s Week 4 tilt vs the division rival Green Bay Packers which saw the Lions as easy victors. Williams will be reinstated on the Monday beginning week 5 and will be eligible to play as the Lions host the Carolina Panthers in their next contest.
Williams, a speedy deep threat at Alabama, managed only 9 targets in his 2022 rookie campaign after missing most of the season due to injury. He was preparing to take on an important role alongside Amon-Ra St. Brown in the Lions’ offense, led by quarterback Jared Goff, before the pre-season suspension derailed those plans. After an unknown acclimation period, Williams will finally be able to showcase his talents, and will likely force a diminished target share for fellow Lions wideouts Josh Reynolds and Khalif Raymond.
Jameson Williams struggled in his return to Detroit Lions training camp, growing frustrated to the point of punching UDFA CB Starling Thomas V.
Jameson Williams was able to routinely dominate defenders off the line of scrimmage on his first day back from a knee injury. The problems came when he was asked to catch the ball, coming up short with several drops and multiple miscommunications with his quarterback. This frustration came to a boil when UDFA Starling Thomas heckled Jamo, which cause the former 1st Rounder to smack the young CB.
Players with the pedigree of Jameson Williams don’t like to be challenged, just ask Travis Kelce. It’s just another red flag for Williams, joining the 6-game suspension for gambling, questions about his maturity and work ethic from last season, a lack of production in his first season, and a late breakout as reasons to be worried.
Jameson Williams responded the next day by roasting star CB Cam Sutton for a 55-yard TD. Dan Campbell says they will “douse Jameson Williams in preseason with a ton of game reps, he needs it”. Jamo will have every opportunity to show why he the Lions traded up for him in the 2022 NFL Draft, but will he get the job done? The Podfather says: NO.
