Welcome back! Last week’s call of Devontae Booker paid off, as he had his best game as a Raider, putting up 81 yards and two touchdowns. I still love his value going forward. This week I wanted to hit running back again, as it is an extremely valuable position in fantasy football. This player is so far off the radar it isn’t funny, and he’s definitely not someone you will be starting anytime soon. Trayveon Williams is this week’s pick. The Cincinnati Bengals running back made a short appearance this week but was very popular among the draft pundits in 2019. Let’s get into it.
Collegiate Career
Trayveon Williams was an absolute stud at Texas A&M University posting over 2,000 total yards and 19 total touchdowns in his final season. He finished with a dominator rating in the 80th percentile. Williams had three performances where he put up over 200 yards rushing in his final season, two against SEC opponents. He averaged 6.5 yards per carry in his final season at A&M and also showed ability in the passing game catching 27 balls. In his collegiate career, Williams amassed over 3,600 yards and had 34 touchdowns. He led the SEC in rushing and touchdowns in his final year. He ranked second in the SEC in receptions and was third in receiving yards among RBs. This all led to him being named All-SEC first-team and being considered a talent coming out of college.
If you forgot what Trayveon Williams looked like coming out, check out his highlights at A&M.
Pro Career
Williams was drafted by the Bengals in the 6th round of the NFL draft and was immediately on the fantasy radar for many in the industry.
Many thought he could challenge for some work in what had been a competitive backfield with Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard getting most of the snaps. Williams played in the final 11 games but amassed no statistics. He only saw seven snaps on offense as a whole. He predominately played on special teams.
In 2020 he has been active in Weeks 8-10, with last week being the first time he received any snaps at all. In Week 10 he finally got some work, albeit behind Bernard and Samaje Perine in a blowout loss to the Steelers. He carried the ball for 22 yards on 5 attempts. Not a big sample size for Williams. However, you have to believe the Bengals may want to see what they have in the promising back going forward.
Future Outlook
The Bengals running back depth chart isn’t chock-full, but it does have a genuine stud in Joe Mixon. Mixon re-upped with the Bengals and is set to be a lead back in this offense that should be getting better now that the quarterback position is solidified. The main competition for Williams at the moment is Gio Bernard, the 28-year-old stalwart of the Bengals backfield. To be relevant going forward and for years to come, Williams will need to make Gio replaceable in the offseason, which is possible considering Gio’s contract. He has very little dead money next season. Williams will have to prove that he is reliable in pass protection as that is the way to guaranteed snaps in this offense.
I am not concerned with Perine or practice squad running back Jacques Patrick. While I believe Mixon is the lead dog, I also believe the Bengals would prefer to use some sort of workshare to not burn him out. I am grabbing Williams in places I have room for a developmental-type project that I can hold for a while. Williams is only owned in 8% of MFL leagues, and he’s someone you can keep an eye on the rest of the year if you do not have space currently.
PREVIOUS DYNASTY SLEEPERS OF THE WEEK
Thanks for checking out this week’s Dynasty Sleeper of the Week. I look forward to Week 11 action and finding you some more gems throughout the season. Honorable Mentions for this week were: Alex Collins (SEA), Troymaine Pope (LAC), Austin Mack (NYG), Donald Parham (LAC), Cam Sims (WSH), D’Onta Forman (TEN), and Marcus Johnson (IND). You can follow me at @Cmoney52 on Twitter. You can message me or shoot me a tweet if there are players you would like to be featured in this segment.
