How to handle Jamaal Williams vs. Bears for Week 1 fantasy football

Green Bay Packers running back Jamaal Williams has been nursing a hamstring injury since the first days of training camp but finally returned to fully practicing this past Monday. He will be available to take the field on Thursday for the Packers season opener against the Chicago Bears.

One of a few teams without a clear-cut bell cow at the position, Green Bay backfield mostly featured a committee built around Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams in 2018. Don’t be fooled by the numbers, though, as Jones missed four games and still finished with more rushing attempts than Williams and almost doubled his production.

Williams is a good pass catcher, and that will allow him to get touches frequently and remain an important part of Green Bay’s backfield. His role, though, will remain behind that of Jones, given how much more productive the latter was.

Fantasy Impact: With Williams back in the lineup, Jones will lose a few touches against the Bears. Williams’ presence in the game, though, shouldn’t pose much concern to Jones owners as Williams won’t eat any significant portion of Jones’ workload.

Williams is the has the fifth-highest price among running backs in Thursday’s single-game slate, and although he’s the cheapest backup available you should skip him. Mike Davis is only $200 more expensive yet Chicago has listed him as RB2 on its last depth chart. Tarik Cohen comes as the Bears RB1 at $4,800 (Williams is listed at $3,300).

Expect to see Williams on the field but don’t dream about getting a great outcome from him this week.

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