Jameson Williams (shoulder) not practicing again

Williams continues to be primarily utilized as a deep threat in the Detroit offense, which is not the development fantasy managers were expecting following offseason reports that his route tree would be expanded in the new year. The mounting injuries along the offensive line have limited Goff’s time in the pocket to the point where Williams rarely has enough time for his routes to develop, leading to the down production through two weeks. Whether either of those two variables changes in the immediate future remains to be seen, leaving us to treat Williams as nothing more than an upside WR3 in the interim. He will be a difficult start in Week 3 when the Lions host the Jets.

At least a couple times a year Campbell has to tell reporters that he’s not worried about Williams’ sometimes-egregious drops, and that his playing time won’t suffer as a result. “I mean, look, nobody’s more frustrated than he is about it, but what I love is this just shows his growth,” Campbell said. “He bounced back, he gets back in the huddle. He’s not sulking, he’s not pouting about it, he’s not letting it go in the tank.” Williams in Week 1 against the Saints had two drops, one of which could have gone for a long score. He led the Lions with 128 air yards (a 56 percent share) and was second on the team with a 23 percent target share. Williams ran a route on 37 of Detroit’s 40 drop backs. He should be locked into lineups for Thursday night’s matchup against the Bills.

Williams posted a semi-usable fantasy score, but the film was hard to watch. He dropped a perfectly thrown deep shot from Jared Goff early in the game and bungled a pitch later, resulting in a loss. Williams has had these types of games in the past and he generally rebounds well. Fantasy managers can keep him in their lineups for a likely shootout with the Bills next week.

Graziano said the “Lions offense is going to hum this season, and Williams is the player poised to take the biggest leap.” That leap, he said, could come as Detroit coaches push Jamo “to expand his route repertoire and contribute as more than just a deep threat.” That in turn could create more short-area and intermediate opportunities and make Williams something more than a boom-bust WR3 play. Williams’ splits with and without Sam LaPorta are concerning, but he should be a high-upside swing in fantasy drafts, especially for those who fade receivers in the first couple rounds.

The Lions are retaining “all” of last year’s play-calling verbiage, and “it was on Drew Petzing to learn the offense,” not the other way around. Goff apparently “had as much of a hand in getting Petzing familiar with the offense as the offensive staff did.” Mays believes these developments speak to the command, agency and autonomy that Goff possesses at this stage in his career. We agree. For those who were concerned about the Lions scrapping the tactics that coach Dan Campbell employed as the Lions’ play caller in Weeks 10-18 last year, it sounds like those concepts aren’t going anywhere. Will Petzing be allowed to add his own elements to that playbook? Yes, we assume so. At the end of the day, this year’s offense could look a lot like last year’s fantasy-friendly unit, though. Draft accordingly.

Williams missed the Lions’ last two practices with what coach Dan Campbell described as a minor shoulder injury. Today’s practice was padless. We should learn more about Williams’ status when the pads go back on. Regardless, Williams seemingly remains a safe WR2/3 candidate right now.

As has been the case in most weeks this season, Jamo finished second on the team in targets behind Amon-Ra St. Brown, highlighting his status as one of the highest upside WR2s in fantasy circles. He ends 2025 with 1,117 yards on 65 receptions, both of which are career highs, matching the seven touchdowns he scored a season ago. His role in the offense really took off after head coach Dan Campbell started calling offensive plays, making it a situation to monitor this offseason should the team make any changes to their coaching staff. Williams remains under contract through the 2029 season after signing a three-year extension in September of 2025.

Williams finished third in targets and yardage behind both Amon-Ra St. Brown (8/68) and Isaac TeSlaa (3/49/1) in an abhorrent offensive showing for Detroit on Christmas Day. Give much of the credit to Minnesota, but also “credit” a horrific Jared Goff performance that reminded of his last few weeks as a Ram. Williams remains in the WR2 range for Week 18 in a meaningless game against the Bears.

Williams finished second on the team in targets, tied with Amon-Ra St. Brown. While he did break his 100-yard game streak at three, Williams’ floor has increased dramatically with Dan Campbell calling the shots on offense. Williams is reguarly invovled on short and intermediate crossers while still getting plenty of opportunities to hit the home run. Williams is entrenched as a WR2 heading into Week 17 against Minnesota.

Since Dan Campbell took over playcalling from John Morton ahead of Week 10’s game against the Commanders, Williams has 33 receptions, 582 yards, and four touchdowns in six games. (This, despite a baffling bagel against the Giants in Week 12.) Morton was the one out in front of the Williams hype train in the offseason; Campbell is merely the man who knows how to steer the ball to him. Williams will remain as inconsistent as any receiver in the sport because of how up-and-down the deep ball runs with him — he left another 40-ish yards on the field in this one on a downfield drop — but it’s hard to say he’s not an easy WR2 with this current pace. The Steelers defense should be gettable in Week 16.