Week 14 wasn’t as bad as Week 13 from an injury standpoint, but fantasy managers still have to deal with losses to guys like Deebo Samuel and maybe Tee Higgins. How much of a priority does this make someone like Jameson Williams or Josh Reynolds for fantasy football managers to add off the waiver wire ahead of Week 15?
Jameson Williams or Josh Reynolds: Who Should You Add From the Waiver Wire?
It’s been a long road back for Williams since tearing his ACL in last season’s National Championship Game. There was no guarantee Williams was going to be able to play at all during his rookie season, so the fact that we get to see him in any capacity is awesome.
From a fantasy perspective, we need to figure out if there is any juice to Williams for the remaining three weeks of the fantasy season. To the surprise of no one, the Detroit Lions are integrating Williams slowly. They do not want to overdo it with their talented first-round rookie receiver.
Williams made his debut in Week 13, playing 11% of the snaps. He failed to catch his lone target. In Week 14, Williams’ playing time increased slightly to 19% of the snaps. He caught his first target of the game, which was the first reception of his career — a 41-yard touchdown where he was as open as any receiver you will ever see.
Meanwhile, Reynolds is firmly the WR3. On Sunday, he was third on the team in snap share, routes run, and targets. Reynolds caught five of his six targets for 61 yards and a touchdown — his best game since Week 4.
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However, Reynolds is not the every-down guy he was during his early-season surge of fantasy relevance. His 61% snap share was his lowest of the season (excluding Week 12, where he left early due to injury). It’s only been two weeks, but Williams’ and Reynolds’ snap shares are trending in opposite directions.
I’m quite confident Williams will be a fantasy factor in 2023. DJ Chark is on a one-year deal, and Reynolds is a journeyman rotational WR3/4. Williams is clearly their WR1 of the future. He and Amon-Ra St. Brown will form one of the better duos in the league next season.
Over these final few weeks of the 2022 season, I’m not sure we see much more from Williams. If you’re bullish on Williams and want to get some action on your belief, Underdog Fantasy is probably a better route to take than starting him in a seasonal-league playoff matchup.
How Aggressively Should Fantasy Managers Pursue Williams or Reynolds Off the Waiver Wire?
Let’s get Reynolds out of the way first: do not pick him up. Week 14 was his first productive game since Week 4. He’s nothing more than a random real-life WR3, who occasionally pops up in a high-scoring contest and happens to score a touchdown. There’s nothing deliberate here and no indication you can trust him going forward.
As for Williams, the only real argument for adding him is in deeper leagues, where he’s been stashed on IR most of the season. If I had Williams, I wouldn’t necessarily drop him. We’ve only seen two weeks, but given that his playing time increased from one to the next, it stands to reason it will continue to go up.
As Williams gets more acclimated to playing football again, his confidence in his knee will increase. Accordingly, his quality of play should also improve. The question is whether there’s any real chance Williams’ volume reaches a point where fantasy managers can start him. My inclination is no.
We haven’t seen enough from Williams to even remotely consider starting him in Week 15. If you add him, you’re sitting on him for another week. For those of you with byes, sure, take the shot — you’ve got nothing to lose. But for those of you playing this week, you can’t be planning for Week 16 when you first need to win in Week 15.
MORE: Week 15 Waiver Wire Pickups
The truth is, had it not been for Williams’ long touchdown reception, no one would be talking about him. Even if he caught a 40-yard bomb that didn’t score, we would just look at two targets, one reception, 40 yards, a 19% snap share, and move on.
Williams remains available in about 64% of Yahoo leagues. The leagues where he’s rostered are likely the only ones where he’s worth picking up.
If he’s still out there in your league and you have a free roster spot, perhaps throw a couple of bucks of FAAB at him if you have a bye this week. You can sit on him, see what happens, and not have to worry about using him this week.
In shallower leagues, or if you’re playing this week, I wouldn’t bother because there’s no way you can start him. If you play in a league that still uses the continual rolling list waiver priority system, do not use it on Williams.