Jameson Williams has been a fantasy football conundrum for years now, baffling owners with his extreme ups and downs. The Detroit Lions wide receiver, who broke out with 1,062 yards and eight touchdowns from scrimmage in 2024, has been just as explosive in 2025, but somehow even less predictable. He is fresh off another disappointing showing against the New York Giants in Week 12, bringing his value as a WR2 – and even a FLEX option – back into question.
So heading into the Lions’ Thanksgiving Day showdown with the Green Bay Packers, should you trust Williams enough to slot him back into your fantasy football lineup?
How did Jameson Williams perform vs. the Giants in Week 12?
For the second time in five games, Williams put up 0.0 PPR fantasy points. The speedy 24-year-old did not catch any of his three targets, two of which came on back-to-back plays in the second quarter. He did notch a 0-yard catch in the third, only to have it wiped out by an ineligible man downfield penalty.
It wasn’t as if Detroit’s offense got held in check, either. The Lions and Giants combined for over 1,000 yards of offense in a game that went to overtime. Jared Goff dropped back to pass 45 times and completed 28 of his attempts for 279 yards. Amon-Ra St. Brown caught nine of 13 targets for 149 yards and a touchdown. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs did a ton of heavy lifting as well, drawing 12 targets and converting 11 of them into 45 yards and a touchdown. Kalif Raymond, Brock Wright and David Montgomery caught a combined eight of nine targets for 85 yards. Neither Williams nor Isaac TeSlaa produced anything during the shootout.
Jameson Williams’ Fantasy Football Value
Williams is now WR34 on the season, averaging 10.7 PPR fantasy points per game. He has broken double-digit PPR fantasy points five times in 11 weeks. He scored a touchdown in each of those five contests, but has not found paydirt in any of the other six games.
When Williams scores a touchdown this season, he is averaging 19.5 PPR fantasy points per game. When he doesn’t, his average is 3.4. Williams averages 15.7 PPR fantasy points in his seven games with at least four targets and 2.1 in his four games with three or fewer targets. Basically, Williams is about as boom-or-bust as you can get. It seemed like Williams was about to break out of that role when he scored 16.6, 23.9 and 19.7 PPR fantasy points in the three weeks coming out of the Lions’ bye, only to fall back to Earth with a goose egg in Week 12.
Williams has actually run more routes than any other Lions receiver this season. And yet, St. Brown’s 31.75% target share is more than double Williams’ 15.73% mark. With tight end Sam LaPorta hitting the injured reserve, both of those could take a tick up in the aggregate. Looking at all NFL receivers with at least 250 routes, Williams’ 13.89 average depth of target ranks No. 7. Williams also averages 7.9 yards after catch, which ranks second among wideouts with at least 10 receptions this season.
Start or sit Jameson Williams in Week 13?
Sometimes the Lions feature Williams and sometimes they don’t. It’s difficult to pin down when they will and when they won’t, presenting fantasy owners with a difficult lineup decision virtually every week.
The Packers rank No. 16 in terms of limiting opposing fantasy receivers in 2025, so it doesn’t seem like Williams has a particularly challenging matchup on his hands for Thursday. Last Thanksgiving, Williams totaled 46 yards on five receptions, eight targets and two carries versus the Chicago Bears. Detroit and Green Bay faced off on Thanksgiving in 2023, when Williams went for 51 yards on two catches and three targets. As floors go, 9.6 and 7.1 PPR fantasy points isn’t bad. Should Williams score a touchdown, that suddenly raises his value drastically.
Williams hasn’t posted back-to-back duds so far in 2025. Roll the dice on him in a prime holiday window, since leaving his ceiling on the bench would be a tough way to start your Thanksgiving festivities.
