Jameson Williams is one of the most intriguing prospects in the ’22 class. Williams tore his ACL in January but had an incredible season for Alabama before being named as a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, which is awarded to the nation’s most outstanding WR in college. Every weekend, his incredible speed was displayed, regularly gashing opponents for chunk gains and long touchdowns, whether through the air or the return game, finishing his junior season with 79 catches for 1,572 yards and 15 TDs. The only hole in his statistical profile is that he essentially did nothing until he got to Bama; with Ohio State, he totaled just 15 catches for 266 yards and three TDs in his first two seasons combined. Jameson offers a skill set that is required on every single NFL roster, his field-stretching ability could change the potential of an offense as well as possibly elevate other players around him, but I don’t think his stats will be a good representation of his value for the team that drafts him.
People will argue with you and tell you that Jameson Williams is elite after the catch. I’d tend to disagree.
You’ll see all the Bama WRs clumped together with Jeudy, Jameson, DeVonta, and Waddle in the circle. Could that have to do with the scheme and Alabama’s ability to put them in the best position to maximize each play? That feels more plausible than all these guys being so similarly productive after the catch. I dove into some numbers to compare the 3 players in the NFL already to see if any of these claims have any truth to them. Jaylen Waddle, who most would consider the best after the catch out of this group, also scored the highest on this chart, ranked 10th in the NFL his rookie year in YAC/target, whereas Jerry Jeudy finished 48th and DeVonta Smith finished 58th. Both average in comparison to Waddle when considering how close they chart to each other, so I decided to check the other two WRs that were closest to these three on the chart, which would be Diontae Johnson, CeeDee Lamb, and Marquise Brown.
Diontae Johnson ranked sixth in YAC/target, CeeDee 17th, and Marquise 20th, all considerably higher than Jerry Jeudy and DeVonta Smith. My takeaway is that the Alabama Crimson Tide might be the best in the country at utilizing their players to their strengths. Outside of pure speed and field-stretching ability, I’m not convinced Jameson will give you much else. He’s nothing special as a route runner and did not show a very extensive route tree this past year as he ran either a go, hitch, or screen route on 50% of his targets. He has a slight build which didn’t help when playing against press coverage, especially on the outside. He struggles at times when he can’t get off the line clean, and he’s only going to see more press once he gets to the NFL, which could be more cause for concern.
It’s not often that you see a serious deep threat like Jameson Williams command a high target share in the NFL. That’s not to say he can’t be a good NFL player or that he can’t have some productive fantasy seasons, but to me, he best compares to a taller DeSean Jackson. For a while, DeSean was a solid receiver, but he only had 4 top 24 finishes in fantasy PPG across 15 seasons. Jameson Williams is not a bet I will be making with a 1st round pick in my dynasty rookie draft.
Thanks for reading. I combine film and analytics-based evaluations, hunting the best values in dynasty FF and Devy. Always down for some debate, find me on Twitter @Quintorris_ Click here for a 12-month DFF Membership.
