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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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.
The Detroit Lions have their Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson back.
One of the most sought-after coaches in the NFL, Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson is coming back to Detroit Lions for at least another season. After losing to the San Fransico 49ers in the NFC Championship game it was thought Ben Johnson was going to be the next Head Coach for either Washington Commanders or Settle Seahawks, but Ben Johnson informed both teams he is returning to Detroit.
With this news that means the Lions should remain an explosive offense for at least another season. Johnson, who is 37 years old, was promoted to OC in 2022, which, turned around Jared Goff and the Lions offense into one of the best in the league. Next year, he will again be one of the top names in the Head Coach vacancies. Perhaps, he is waiting for the Bills or Cowboys jobs to open up.
