Week 7 Waiver Wire Wide Receiver Debate | Should You Add Lions’ Jameson Williams or Patriots’ Kendrick Bourne
Week 6 of the NFL season saw a handful of sparsely-owned receivers turn in strong fantasy days. Now fantasy owners are trying to determine which one they should add to their fantasy teams, if they have room.
For this discussion, let’s take a look at Detroit Lions’ Jameson Williams and New England Patriots’ Kendrick Bourne. We’ll decide which player is the better waiver wire target for week 7 and the rest of the season. Let’s go.
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Week 6 Showings
In what was originally supposed to be the final week of Williams’ six-game suspension, the Lions’ receiver instead had a big impact in the team’s 20-6 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Williams continues to be eased into action, as he played just 16 snaps, or 23% of the team’s total. It didn’t stop him from making an impact though, as he hauled in two passes on his three targets.
All three targets came on one drive. He first caught an 8-yard pass and then capped the drive off with a 45-yard touchdown grab.
Bourne started this season with a 6-catch, 64-yard, 2-touchdown performance, but has been quiet since then, with just 12 catches, 154 yards and no scores in the four games since. He got back on track with a big game against the Las Vegas Raiders in week 6.
Bourne was targeted 11 times, making 10 grabs for 89 yards. He had a long catch of 36 yards. Bourne also had a carry for 4 yards.
Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlook
Bourne is owned in 31% of leagues, while Williams is owned in 59%. Those numbers for each guy are sure to skyrocket before week 7 kicks off, so the question now becomes: which guy is the better fantasy option going forward?
Bourne’s showing in week 6 was a bit more impressive in my eyes, as he put up a strong score, especially in PPR leagues, without a touchdown. Williams has looked like a big-play threat in his limited NFL career, but the touchdown definitely gives fantasy owners more hope that his role in the Lions’ offense is going to increase.
In Williams first game in week 5, the youngster played 28 offensive snaps, or 47% of the team’s total. The decrease in snaps and overall percentage is not all that encouraging.
Meanwhile, Bourne played in 56 snaps and 93% of the team’s offensive plays in week 6. So if the two player’s numbers were to remain the same, Bourne certainly seems like the better option.
However, the Lions have said they were going to ease Williams back into things, so I’d expect his snaps to increase as the season continues to roll along. He might not ever reach the snap counts that Bourne averages, but I’d anticipate the Lions’ wideout playing somewhere between 50-75% of the snaps before the year is over.
Over their next four games, the Lions will play the Baltimore Ravens, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers and Chicago Bears. The Ravens and Raiders are both above-average defenses when it comes to slowing opposing wideouts, surrendering 33 and 32 fantasy points a game, respectively. The Chargers and Bears are below average, allowing 47 and 37 fantasy points, respectively.
New England will play the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Washington Commanders and Indianapolis Colts over its next four games. Bourne’s outlook is a touch better over the next four games, as only Buffalo is above average in stopping receivers, allowing 31 points a contest. Miami allows 37, while Washington surrenders 44 and the Colts 39.
Who Should You Add?
I like both Williams and Bourne as waiver wire additions this week, but for different reasons.
I think Bourne is the better play over the next few weeks, as he’s more involved with his team’s offense and can put up good fantasy points without needing a touchdown. If you are simply looking at a fill-in player as your players are on bye, then I like Bourne over Williams for the next couple weeks.
However, if you are looking for a better long-term player, or are in a dynasty league, then Williams is the guy I’d target. I believe his snap counts and usage will continue to increase as the season rolls along. Detroit can afford to take things slow as they sit at 5-1 overall, but he’ll be needed if they want to make a deep postseason run. Sooner or later, Williams will play a healthy amount of snaps, which increases the likelihood he has good or great fantasy showings.
For the near future, I’d probably stash Williams on my bench, at least until he plays a game or two at or near 50% of the team’s offensive snaps. Until then, he’s too dependent on big plays for my liking. Of course, with bye weeks and injuries at the position, you might not have any other options. I’m sure he’ll be a part of start/sit discussions coming up soon.
