Tim's Takeaways: Week Nine

Mike Williams' Downward Slide

    The old Mike Williams has reared his ugly head. I’m sorry Mike, that was mean. You’re not ugly. It’s just an expression. What was I saying again? Oh yeah, fantasy football.

     After a ridiculous start to the season (weeks 1-5) where Mike Will averaged 10 targets, 23.2 fantasy points, 94.2 yards per game and racked up six TDs, he was beginning to look like the receiver we all expected him to be coming out of Clemson. It has, unfortunately, been all downhill from there.

  Williams has now delivered three consecutive single-digit fantasy performances, which makes that four out of his last five. He has not seen more than five targets or caught more than two passes at any point during this span. Thanks to a 50-yard bomb in week nine, he at least topped 27 yards this time. So, there’s that. Unfortunately there hasn’t been much of anything else… Except disappointment.

     But this is the same old story with Williams, isn’t it? He embodies the term boom-or-bust. He has one of the highest ceilings of any receiver I’ve ever seen (12 career games with 21+ fantasy points, 3 games with 30+) But he also tends to disappear entirely at times (28 games with less than 10 fantasy points post-rookie year). I’m not saying he isn’t starting material for fantasy any more, but all of a sudden, there’s going to be a lot more caution involved. I hate to break it you but your window to trade him at WR1 value has closed. You either are going to have to offload him for whatever you can get, or continue to ride the rollercoaster.



Tee Higgins is the New Robert Woods

    By that I mean: there’s nothing sexy about throwing him into your lineup, but you can always trust him. Higgins has been nothing but a model of consistency through two years in the NFL. He may not have a huge ceiling, but the man is a walking double-digit PPR game. No, literally.

   He has now registered double-digit fantasy points in 16 of his 21 career games (76 percent). He has had AT LEAST 13 points (or more) in 13 of those 16 games. He’s been targeted seven or more times in 14 of his 21 games. But get ready for this next one… So far, he doesn’t have one full game, in his NFL career, with less than five targets. Not one. Isn’t that insane?

    When you start Tee Higgins, you know what you’re going to get. A reception hog with a safe floor. Exactly what Robert Woods used to be, and what he’s getting back to being. But that is a takeaway for another time. 


Sam Darnold Belongs on the Bench

    Not just in fantasy, but in real life. I was an advocate of his talent for the last year. I’ve gone on record saying that he would have a bounce back season as the starting QB of the Panthers. After an impressive start, that seemed like a great call. I might have even taken a small victory lap.

   Weeks 1-4, Darnold had no less than 18 fantasy points in any game, 10 total TDs, and nearly matched his career 300-yard game totals with the Jets in less than five games. But since then, he has been arguably the worst starting QB in the NFL.

    Not only have the Panthers lost five of their last six games after a 3-0 start, Darnold is responsible for nine turnovers and just two TDs during that span. He has failed to throw for 175 yards or score a TD in each of his last three games. Since week five, he has topped 200 passing yards one time. He is literally averaging 6.6 fantasy points per game. Disastrous is the first word that comes to mind. 

     The worst part about it is, DJ Moore (who began the season with 20+ points in three of his first four games) is suffering as a result. He has no more than 13 PPR points in any game since week five, and is averaging just 9.9 PPG.

​   Not that I think PJ Walker is the answer, but at this rate, Sam Darnold simply cannot be allowed to continue to drag this team down. Although, it may already be too late… 

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