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Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had a huge season in 2023, finishing as the WR3 in PPR, averaging a massive 20.7 PPR points per game and scoring over 22 points in each of his last four games, proving to be a league-winner down the stretch. Naturally, he was expected to get off to a hot start in 2024.
Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams couldn't have gone more differently. Fellow Lions WR Jameson Williams shocked the fantasy football landscape by massively outgaining all other Lions players in receiving production, catching five passes for 121 yards and a huge 52-yard touchdown.
The Jameson Williams breakout has OFFICIALLY arrived in Detroit
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5 Receptions
134 Total Yards
24.2 Yards per Catch
1 Touchdown
26-20 W to spoil Rams “Revenge Tour”The rest of the NFL is not ready for a polished Jamo 🥶 pic.twitter.com/mE6wgDhvZf
— dunc 🌎 (@SpartyWRLD) September 9, 2024
Williams burned two-time All-Pro Tre'Davious White and left him in the dust on the way to his big score. He also had multiple highlight-reel plays. It was the best game of his career, and he was the Lions' brightest star in the pivotal win over the Rams. So, was Williams' game a fluke, or can we expect a monster season from the speedster in his third season? Let's dive into all the details and find out.
Why Did Jameson Williams Have a Huge Game?
The first reason is Williams' usage. He played just 53% of offensive snaps in 2023. That's not conducive to fantasy production. To make matters worse last year, he was often out of sync with QB Jared Goff. He also had prominent issues with drops and dropped many key passes that could have led to big plays.
Jameson Williams woke up feeling dangerous 💀
10 targets 🎯
2 catches 🏈
18 yards 🦁
1 dropped long ball 🔥Bros not beating the bust allegations tonight 🔥 pic.twitter.com/jmQgK30vXp
— 𝓦𝓘𝓝𝓝𝓔𝓢𝓞𝓣𝓐 ☔️💫 (@Winnesota18) August 12, 2023
Drops are often not consistent year to year and are thus a fluky stat. Had Williams not struggled with drops so often, he could've had a much bigger season in 2023. It stands to reason that he could've broken out earlier had he had better luck with his catching. We saw him catch the ball well on Sunday.
Williams' usage improved heavily in the Rams game as opposed to his 2023 games. The WR was on the field for the vast majority of offensive snaps with 52, good for second on the team, after St. Brown's 60 snaps. Williams also ran nearly as many routes, with 30 vs. St. Brown's 32 routes. He out-targeted St. Brown eight to six and also had a designed run.
Jameson Williams played a career high 85% of offensive snaps!
- 5 Receptions
- 134 Total Yards
- 24.2 Yards per Catch 👀
- TDKeep feeding him the ball! #OnePride pic.twitter.com/wR3CbqG7PI
— LionsFanReport (@lionsfanreport) September 9, 2024
Runs are another element to his game that we saw flashes of last season. Lions OC Ben Johnson has called run plays with Williams before, sometimes to great success, like his huge 42-yard TD run against the 49ers in the NFC Championship last year.
Williams' acceleration allows him to get around the perimeter quickly, dusting the defensive line completely and taking it out of the play. He then has the high-end speed to take angles that defenders can't follow and gain big yardage.
The 49ers are susceptible to outside runs, especially WR ones. Look at how hard Bosa crashes down on this Jameson Williams reverse. Mecole had a career day vs. SF last season too. Not sure who the Chiefs trust on these plays, but they should dial a few up. pic.twitter.com/9tsMsm39td
— Adam Best (@Arrowhead_Adam) February 6, 2024
This skill set in the hands of Ben Johnson, an elite offensive mind who was sought out for head-coaching positions last year, is excellent. It should be no surprise that they figured out a way to make him very productive in his first game of 2024.
Will Jameson Williams Continue to Dominate?
It's tough to say he'll have games like Sunday night for the rest of the year, considering the target competition he faces. St. Brown still gathered eight targets, tight end Sam LaPorta is one of the best in the NFL at his position and sees the field nearly as often as Williams, and running back Jahmyr Gibbs is an excellent pass-catching back who had six targets of his own.
The key for Williams is his ability to make big plays. He may not need many targets to produce. Williams has plenty of explosive plays to his name and legitimate top-5-in-the-entire-league speed. In college, the University of Alabama's GPS tracking system clocked him at over 23 mph, a speed matched in the NFL by only Tyreek Hill and Raheem Mostert.
Jameson Williams’ fastest speed on the field in college was clocked in at about 23 MPH. Since 2016, Tyreek Hill and Raheem Mostert are the only two players in the NFL to have hit 23 MPH on the field.
Jameson Williams doesn’t just have speed. He has GAME CHANGING speed. pic.twitter.com/qIbbjVJDeu
— Hutchinson Brown (@hutchinsonb_ff) April 27, 2022
The presence of Ben Johnson works wonders for the entire Lions offense and QB Jared Goff has proven himself more than capable of supporting elite fantasy pass-catchers. There was some concern toward the end of last season, with many of Williams' plays being short-yardage dunks and fewer downfield opportunities.
But it looks like the Lions have worked that out in the offseason. Downfield plays and deep targets will be crucial to him producing big games down the stretch. They will have to keep using his elite speed to stretch the field and create space for him to run after the catch. He was a fantastic separator as well.
Week 1 ASS Leaders (Average Separation Score) (MIN 15 Routes)
1.) AD Mitchell (0.667) 🔥
2.) Mike Evans (0.609
3.) Jameson Williams (0.500)
4.) George Pickens (0.450)
5.) Nico Collins (0.406)— Brett Whitefield (@BGWhitefield) September 10, 2024
What Will The Rest of Jameson Williams' Season Look Like?
It's tempting to call Williams a boom-or-bust, high-ceiling WR2 with upside. If his drop problems come back, that's exactly what he could be, though it remains to be seen how OC Ben Johnson would react to that situation. However, a WR on this offense with this kind of usage has too much upside to ignore.
It may be that his season comes at the expense of St. Brown and LaPorta's production. This is a plausible scenario. The best offenses in the league have multiple threats to spread the ball around to, putting a massive strain on defenses. It's nearly impossible for most defenses to bottle up four legitimate playmakers in the passing game.
One of my fave plays in the #Lions offense—a lot of possibilities with this look. pic.twitter.com/N4Y9k6CFyn
— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) September 9, 2024
NFL offenses don't care about fantasy production. Williams' skill set is massively important for an elite offense. His game-breaking speed helps stretch defenses. The Lions offense is set to be elite again this year but with a different distribution of passing.
Williams' outlandish speed and role means he could be susceptible to dips in production if his drops return. He has a fantastic ceiling, though. In deeper leagues, he should start immediately, and in 10-team and lower leagues, managers should keep an eye on him.
He has a rare week-winning upside, and the Lions have shown that they can get him involved. Williams' game was not a fluke!
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