I believe in second chances when it comes to fantasy football.
I'm willing to get hurt by Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Marvin Mims again. I'm willing to forgive and forget.
But when it comes to third chances, or even worse, fourth chances? Shame on me and shame on you.
Somehow two of the biggest risers on Underdog Fantasy the past week are two veteran WRs who have continued to disappoint us year after year despite plenty of chances to make their mark.
It pains me to see the truthers and slappies stumble back to their old lovers, not remembering the pain that they had inflicted on them previously.
Today, I'm hoping to steer these lost souls back on the straight and narrow path. It's not too late to search for love in the right places because we absolutely can't do this shit again…
Jameson Williams: Year 3 breakout??
It was only two years ago that Williams was drafted 12th overall by the Lions and yet it feels like so much longer than that.
The Jameson Williams Experience™ has been anything but a fun time since he entered the league.
His rookie year was mostly wiped out due to the torn ACL he suffered during his senior year at Alabama. He didn't see the field until Week 13 and then didn't play more than 18 snaps the rest of the way.
No biggy, we all thought. It's a redshirt year. Rest up and then we'll all get to enjoy that textbook second-year WR breakout.
It sounded like a nice plan on paper, but Jamo had other plans. And those plans involved gambling on college football games during a team roadtrip in 2022. I personally have no problem with this behavior, but Roger Goodell and I don't see eye to eye on this one.
Williams was hit with a six-game suspension that was ultimately reduced to only four games when the league office learned that he had shopped around for the best line.
I'm kidding, I have no idea why it was reduced, but regardless…the vibes surrounding Jamo were once again horrendous.
Still, we drafters are a patient, forgiving bunch. We were back on our bullshit last summer, happily drafting Williams in Rounds 9 and 10 while screaming "trust the process" into our pillows at night.
Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams celebrates a touchdown against the 49ers in the first quarter of the NFC championship game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024.
Williams saw his first action in the 2023 season in Week 5 vs. the Panthers after serving his time for placing late-night parlays. Over the next 15 weeks, he cleared 10 fantasy points only two times. Womp womp. It was Joever for Jamo…until it wasn't.
In the NFC Championship game, Williams went full Undetaker dot gif, scoring 2 TDs and notching 19.7 fantasy points.
We were so back. All it took was one endaround TD run and all was forgiven.
Flash forward to the opening of the 2024 best ball season and drafters were once again tripping over themselves to select Williams in the Top 100 picks. Had it not been for that playoff game vs. the Niners, he would undoubtedly be going multiple rounds later. Instead, we were all forced to pay a playoff TD tax to draft him. God bless recency bias.
The hype has not slowed down, either. In fact, it's picked up. Due to some recent comments from Dan Campbell, Williams is up 8 spots in Underdog ADP over the past couple weeks to pick 87.
Which begs the question, are we really doing this shit again?
We fully expect breakout rookies Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta to take on even bigger roles this year. Amon-Ra St. Brown is a Top 5 WR in the league. Why is this year going to be different for Jamo? Because Josh Reynolds is now in Denver?? Get ready to learn Kalif Raymond, buddy.
I'll take a sprinkle of Jamo on teams where I want to set up a double stack with Jared Goff or get access to a San Francisco bringback for Week 17 correlation purposes, but otherwise, this price is silly.
This same type of bounceback copium fueled the selections of Treylon Burks and Rashod Bateman in a similar ADP range last year, and we all know how that worked out.
Speaking of Bateman…
Rashod Bateman: Year 4 breakout??
Like Williams, Bateman is a first-round pick whose ADP is also up over the past week (from pick 181 to pick 167). But unlike Jameson–who is entering his third year in the league–Bateman is gearing up for his fourth NFL rodeo.
Bateman has fortunately dodged the degen tingles that plagued Jamo, but his career has been mostly snakebitten by injuries:
- Started his rookie season on IR after undergoing groin surgery
- Injured his foot multiple times during his sophomore year before undergoing surgery on his foot and ending his season after only 6 games
- Stayed healthy for all of 2023, but didn't clear double-digit fantasy points in a single game
Yes, you read that last part correctly. Despite plenty of opportunity in an explosive Lamar Jackson-led offense, Bateman's highest-scoring game last year was 7.5 fantasy points. Tyreek Hill calls that "a quarter."
The Ravens surprised everyone by rewarding Bateman with a three-year contract extension in April and that was apparently all drafters needed to be back in.
Which begs the question, are we really doing this shit again?
Bateman has not been able to carve out a meaningful role for fantasy in three years, Zay Flowers put together an impressive rookie year, and the team just drafted an exciting rookie WR in Devontez Walker. Don't worry, I won't bring up Nelson Agholor. I'm not a monster.
The recent ADP move for Bateman isn't a big deal by itself–ADP doesn't matter after Round 13 or so–but I think there are plenty of better dart throws in this range (Mims, Luke McCaffrey, Javon Baker, etc.) than chasing the ghost of a fourth-year breakout.
Even on Lamar teams, I'd rather wait for Walker or Isaiah Likely as cheaper stacking options.
N'Keal Harry: say no to drugs
No, I can't. I absolutely can't.
