Jameson

Williams

We’re not sure if a player can be due for a catastrophic bust of a fantasy week, but “Jamo” was probably due for a catastrophic bust. He came into this game red hot, with 208 yards and five touchdowns over his past three games. Given Williams boom/bust nature, a flop was always right around the corner. He also dropped one of his two targets, which didn’t help his cause. The Lions get a potential shootout with the Patriots next week, meaning fantasy managers can safely keep Williams in their lineups as a WR3 despite today’s quiet outing.

Williams scored the Lions’ lone passing touchdown on a short corner-of-the-end-zone grab in the first half. Williams was second behind Amon-Ra St. Brown in targets, functioning as the primary downfield threat with a nice 46-yard catch on a Jared Goff shot down the middle. Williams, who came into Week 8 with the 16th most air yards among wide receivers this season, should remain in lineups next week against a vulnerable Buffalo secondary that has struggled against boundary wideouts.

Williams wasted little time getting involved early in this one. On the Lions’ fifth play of the game, he ripped off a 24-yard gain to the Packers’ 16-yard line. On the next play, Williams came in motion and snuck out of the Lions’ backfield to turn a short pass into a 16-yard score, giving the Lions their first points of the day. Williams would find the end zone again in the third quarter on a 10-yard touchdown, and on the following drive, he nearly scored again. Were it not for a Packers defender knocking him out of the back of the end zone on a catch, we would have seen a hat trick. Williams’ big-play ability was on display all night, as three of his five receptions went for 15-plus yards. Williams now has back-to-back two-touchdown performances to his name and has gone for 90-plus yards in two of his last three games. His volume continues to be inconsistent, but Williams is capable of breaking any game open at a moment’s notice. He will be a fringe WR2 in what could be a tough Week 8 matchup against the Vikings.

The Lions’ speedster only caught two passes today, but he made them count. Williams’ first catch was a nine-yard, fourth-down touchdown on the Lions’ fifth drive. He nearly hauled in a 25-yarder via a play-action target on the sixth drive, but Cardinals CB Max Melton batted it away. He was open for an explosive gain on the next drive, but Jared Goff checked down to Sam LaPorta about 10 yards beneath Williams. A few plays later, Williams dusted his coverage defender for a 39-yard score from bunch formation, hauling in the touchdown pass in stride in the end zone. Goff later gave him another touchdown chance on a downfield throw targeted inside the Cardinals’ five-yard line, but Williams couldn’t secure it. He’ll now take a week off with the Lions’ Week 6 bye, but return as a WR2 against the Packers in Week 7.

Fantasy managers had suffered through three down games with the middle-round pick before Williams was able to take advantage of a Carolina secondary missing its top two corners. He was kept out of the end zone for the fourth consecutive contest to start the 2026 season but returned his first fantasy-viable outing on the backs of 52 Jared Goff pass attempts. While that level of volume is unlikely to be the norm for the Lions, a Week 5 meeting with the Cardinals provides another opportunity for Williams to return value in a potential shootout. Williams will be an upside WR3.

The incident was reported to the police earlier this month. Jeff Wattrick, spokesman for the Oakland County Prosecutor, told Birkett, “Based on the facts presented to us at this time, the Novi Police and our office jointly concluded that there is no cause to file charges against Mr. Williams.” Williams has been an off-field headache for the Lions since entering the league, but it doesn’t sound like this latest incident will be an issue. He will be on the field for the team’s Week 4 date with Carolina.

Drew Petzing schemed up a few short and intermediate looks for Williams, but he still finished with a measly 12.5 percent target share. Both Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown saw eight targets. Williams has topped out at four catches through three weeks. His 49 yards today are a season-high. Williams closed the 2025 season as an every-week WR2, maybe even more. That usage has all but disappeared to start the 2026 season. He is tumbling back into the WR3 ranks heading into the Lions’ Week 4 game against the Panthers.

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.