Isaiah

Williams

Cooper played extensively in the Jets’ first preseason game, prompting The Athletic’s Zach Rosenblatt to write that WR Isaiah Williams appeared to have overtaken Cooper for the starting slot receiver job. This week, Cooper out-snapped WR Isaiah Williams six to one on the first drive. Williams continued playing on the second drive before rotating with Cooper on the third. PFF’s Nathan Jahnke notes that when Cooper returned, he lined up out wide while Williams manned the slot. Williams caught 3-of-5 targets for 17 yards and one fumble, though it was recovered by the Jets. It appears as though Cooper may have regained his spot as the Jets’ WR3 behind WR1 Garrett Wilson and WR2 Adonai Mitchell. Cooper still makes for a risky late-round dart throw, but he will get more chances to contribute.

We blurbed about Cooper playing deep into the preseason game on Friday — never a great sign — and this backs that up. Williams, an outstanding return man in his rookie season, enters the deep sleeper conversation at wideout.

Cooper entered the game on the Jets’ second drive, after the established starters called it a night. The usage meant Cooper played behind WR Isaiah Williams, who played 7-of-11 snaps on the first drive. Cooper continued playing through the Jets’ sixth drive. According to Rotoworld’s own Kyle Dvorchak, the last non-quarterback first-round rookie to play that late is former Titans WR Treylon Burks, back in his 2022 rookie season. This does not bode well for Cooper’s early-season usage.

Those numbers were team highs in targets, catches, and receiving yards on the day. That says a lot about how bad this Jets offense looked. Williams is primarily a return man, but he was forced into a much larger role in the Jets’ passing attack late in the season and finished with 26 catches on 36 targets for 193 yards. The 24-year-old — somehow voted team MVP last week by the players — showed enough juice in that role and on special teams to be a strong candidate to remain the fifth receiver on the Jets next year.

Williams has seemingly overtaken John Metchie as the Jets’ No. 2 receiver. He has 14 catches over the past three weeks to Metchie’s eight. Williams’ late-season surge has been impressive, but it’s more impactful for his future earnings than it is for fantasy managers. He is buried in the WR5/6 range heading into the final week of the year.

The news was first reported by Pro Football Talk. Lazard will reportedly look to sign with a contender. We wish him luck in that endeavor. Lazard has 10 catches on 18 targets over ten games this season in a Jets offense that has been desperate for wideout production. He has been targeted on 13 percent of his pass routes through Week 15. Lazard could always land with longtime friend and former teammate Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh if the Steelers are looking to add more receiver depth ahead of the postseason. Jets beat writer Connor Hughes said Lazard had “questionable practice habits, and rubbed some teammates the wrong way with way he acted once Aaron Rodgers arrived” in 2023. Lazard’s departure from New York could open up more playing time for electric WR Isaiah Williams, who had six receptions for 53 yards last week against the Jaguars.

It was a career day for Williams, who ranked second among Jets receivers in routes (30) and third in snaps with 41. Williams has played primarily on special teams this season and currently leads the league in punt return yards (396) and has two punt return touchdowns. He seemed to show good chemistry with Brady Cook, who he has presumably spent a lot of time with in practice, but his strong performance in Week 15 could warrant a stronger look over the final three weeks of the season. Williams has played 30-plus snaps and run 20-plus routes in back-to-back weeks. He’s worth a stash in deeper leagues ahead of next week’s game against the Saints.

Williams was responsible for two of the Jets’ biggest plays of the game. He first took a punt 78 yards to the house in the first quarter for the Jets’ only touchdown of the game. He also drew a defensive pass interference on a Brady Cook deep pass to get the Jets into the red zone. Williams is not fantasy relevant, but occasionally has some big special teams plays.

He’ll be the third quarterback in Cincinnati this year behind Joe Burrow and Jake Browning. Also joining the Cincinnati practice squad are: RB Gary Brightwell, S Russ Yeast, OT Devin Cochran, OT Andrew Coker, CB Jalen Davis, LB Joe Giles-Harris, G Jaxson Kirkland, CB Bralyn Lux, C Seth McLaughlin, RB Kendall Milton, WR Jordan Moore, LB Maema Njongmeta, DE Isaiah Thomas and WR Isaiah Williams.

Williams joined the Lions as a UDFA this year and cracked the team’s 53-man roster at the end of camp. He did not play until Week 8 when he caught two passes for six yards. Williams was cut after Week 9. He gives the Bengals an extra depth option with Tee Higgins banged up and Jermaine Burton’s rookie season spiraling.