After a horrific start to the 2026 season, the New England Patriots might just be back. One week after beating the Buffalo Bills in a thriller, the Patriots ousted the Las Vegas Raiders in even more convincing fashion, winning 45-17 and completely shutting down the Raiders’ running game. New England now has a winning record and is far more likely than not to end up making the playoffs.
2025 MVP runner-up Drake Maye has looked far more comfortable in his past two games, and he could be in line to get some help this weekend, as there’s a chance that wide receiver A.J. Brown, acquired over the summer to serve as Maye’s top target, could be ready to return after missing four weeks with a high ankle sprain. New England also enjoyed a breakout performance from second-year receiver Kyle Williams.
Williams is still barely rostered in any Yahoo Sports fantasy leagues, but he’s gained some traction after his effort against the Raiders and could be in line for a breakout game.
Results and Usage
Williams played sparingly as a rookie in 2025, though he did have a 72-yard touchdown catch in a Week 10 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that accounted for more than one-third of his total yardage that season. He also had just two total receptions before Week 5, but in the win over Las Vegas, he caught all three of his targets for 91 yards and a score (18.1 FPTS). The speedster simply out-raced his opponents on two deep balls, and Maye found him in stride.
So far this season, Williams ranks 56th among 114 qualified grades by Pro Football Focus’ receiving grades. Though he’s not qualified for leaderboards by the NFL’s Next Gen Stats (which requires a minimum of 13 targets), he’d lead the league in yards per catch if he did. He does qualify for the targets leaderboard, ranking third in yards per target. He’ll likely never be a high-usage option, but as long as he’s capable of producing a big play, he’s at least worth analyzing as a potential fantasy sleeper.
Future Outlook
Even in his breakout game, he only appeared on the field for 36% of the Patriots’ snaps, which didn’t represent a significant uptick over the first few games of the season. He’s still predominantly a special teamer, using his speed as a kick returner, and with Brown potentially set to return, his role might remain small. The fact that New England lost a receiver (Mack Hollins) after Week 4 and Williams only saw an uptick from 25.0% of the Patriots’ snaps to 36% doesn’t bode well for his importance in the offense, and I doubt two impressive routes will sway Mike Vrabel all that much.
In order to provide fantasy value, Williams will have to break off another long touchdown, which will rely heavily on Maye. Maye has been about league-average on deep balls this season, posting the 16th-highest PFF offensive grades on such throws while throwing four touchdowns and four interceptions. At the same time, he’s also produced four turnover-worthy plays on such plays, tied for the second-most in football. The boom-or-bust signal-caller hasn’t boomed as much as he did last season, when he had nine touchdown passes and one interception on throws of 20 or more yards in the air. New England’s offensive line has given him the fifth-most time to throw, so he should have plenty of opportunity for the deeper throws to develop, but I won’t trust him again until he proves it against a strong defense.
That test could come this week against the New York Jets. New York has pretty good at defending opposing wide receivers, allowing the ninth-fewest FPTS per game to the position. In fact, the Jets have limited opposing passers to the 11th-lowest completion percentage and the fourth-fewest yards per completion, forcing the ninth-shortest average target and posting the second-highest coverage grades. Furthermore, New York has gotten pressure at the 10th-highest rate, thanks in part to stellar rookie David Bailey (5.0 sacks in five games), and Maye has been poor with his arm under pressure. Given his unfavorable matchup and Brown’s impending return, Williams isn’t worth picking up.
