Mike Williams - Fantasy Points Outlook

Basic Stats

WR LAC

#32 Wide Receiver

133 Projected Points

ADP: Not Available

Bye: 7

Experience: 4 Yr(s)

Age: 27

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 225

40 Time: 4.54

Weekly Outlook

Week 20 Projections

This player does not have a weekly prediction

Rest Of Way Outlook

Week 14
Williams caught all 6 targets for 61 yards in the impressive win over the Giants in Week 14. He took on a larger role with the intermediate routes, and he did it successfully. His best play of the day was a WR drag across the field for 25 yards, a route that is usually designed for WR Keenan Allen. (Allen was out with COVID.)

Williams saw his 2nd-shortest average depth of target for the year against the Giants: 2.8. It was just 3rd game among the past 5 with an ADOT shorter than 10 yards. But it immediately followed a 14.4-yard ADOT in Week 13.

Shorter average throws could help stabilize Williams' fantasy scoring, as they did in the season's 1st 3 weeks. We'll see how coaches deploy him against K.C.

Week 12
Williams turned in another lackluster stat line in Sunday’s loss at Denver. The Chargers did, at least, continue to show a desire to get him going.

Williams’ 8 targets tied Austin Ekeler for 2nd on the team (behind Keenan Allen’s 10). He caught just 4 of them for a mere 39 yards.

Williams’ average depth of target pushed deeper than it had been the previous 2 weeks, from 1.6 yards in Week 10 and 7.2 in Week 11 to 10.4 against the Broncos. That still stopped short, though, of his target range for the previous 5 games. Williams finished each of those games between 13.4 and 18.0.

The shorter ADOT sure looks like an attempt to get Williams going more than he had been over those aforementioned 5 games. His big 3-game start to the year found ADOTs of 10.0, 9.7 and 9.8.

The remaining schedule looks neutral for Williams’ scoring. His fantasy production likely depends more on the Chargers’ success at getting him the ball and his ability to capitalize than it does on upcoming matchups.

Week 11
Williams was heavily involved early in the game and then disappeared until late in the 4th quarter. He had 3 catches for 41 yards on the 1st drive and seemed poised for a very big night. Williams ended up making the play of the night taking a short pass down the sideline for a 53-yard go-ahead TD that ended up being the game winner. He was able to show off his top-end speed running away from the Steelers defense on the play. Williams finished the night with 5 catches for 97 yards and 1 TD. This week was the first game since week 5 that Williams has reached the endzone or had more than 4 receptions. Williams is ranked as our WR25 this week against Denver. Broncos DBs have given up multiple TDs to opposing WRs in both of their last 2 games. The next three games on the schedule for the Chargers are @DEN, @CIN, and NYG.

Week 10
Williams suffered yet again from the Chargers’ coaching staff shying away from throwing the ball downfield, where he thrived earlier in the season. It also didn’t help that the Minneosota zone defense was designed to keep receivers in front of them. His 6 targets were 2nd on the team behind Keenan Allen, who had 11. Williams did have a couple passes thrown his way in the red zone, and his best chance to score came on a short slant on which he was brought down just short of the goal line.

He could continue to be maddening for fantasy managers, as we’ve seen a number of spike weeks along with plenty of dud weeks. He came into this game without scoring in 3 straight while posting fewer than 30 yards in 3 of his last 5 matchups. But his upside is excellent, as he posted at least 82 yards in 4 of his first 5 games while regularly finding the end zone. In terms of his remaining schedule, he mostly faces opponents in the middle of the league against WRs.

Week 9
Don’t panic if you’ve had Williams in your lineup and been let down over his past 3 games. There are a few potential factors at play here.

First, Williams brought a knee injury with him into that Week 6 trip to Baltimore, which only found him staying on the field for 36% of offensive snaps. That issue had apparently subsided after the Week 7 bye. Williams participated in full in every Week 8 practice and got off the injury report last week.

The individual matchups got more challenging over those 3 games, with talented players in the Baltimore and New England secondaries. Even in Philly, he faced CB Darius Slay most of the day -- as well as a defense that simply hasn’t allowed much deep. The Eagles sit tied for 4th-fewest completions of 20+ yards allowed.

Williams has dipped to 5 targets in 3 straight games after seeing 10.2 per contest through the 1st 5 weeks. Rather than worry much about Williams, though, we’d blame bad luck and iffy QB play. Justin Herbert turned in his 2 worst outings of the year -- by multiple measures -- before Sunday’s rebound in Philly. And WRs will nearly all see week-to-week fluctuations in their opportunities.

There’s been no downturn in Williams’ playing time, though. His targets have gotten deeper, but that ADOT shift started back in Week 4 -- not the past 3 games.

After looking like a sell-high through a scorching 5-game start to the year, Williams is a potential buy-low if you have a panicking league mate. He gets a neutral schedule the rest of the way by our adjusted fantasy points allowed to WRs. And, according to Pro Football Focus, the Chargers are passing more than “expected” in nearly all game situations.

Week 8
It was a tough day for Williams as he took at backseat to both Austin Ekeler and Keenan Allen in Week 8. Williams only saw 4 targets to 10 for both Allen and Ekeler. This led to a terrible 2-19 receiving line. This poor performance did come as a surprise as the Patriots D was reeling as of late, allowing solid games to outside WRs Ceedee Lamb (9-149-2), Corey Davis (4-47-1) and Mike Evans (7-75). Williams owners should be slightly concerned as this marks the 3rd time out of 4 games that Williams failed to reach 4 points in half-PPR. That low floor can really hurt fantasy managers.
Once again Williams isn’t a must start as the Chargers take on the Eagles. The Eagles this season have been a below average matchup for outside WRs. This includes holding notable WRs D.J. Moore, CeeDee Lamb, Calvin Ridley and Amari Cooper under double digit fantasy points.

Week 6
After missing the entire week of practice with knee swelling, Williams clearly wasn’t himself, and he was limited to playing just 36% of the snaps. When he was on the field, the Ravens went against their usual strategy of playing sides, and they traveled Marlon Humphrey with him. However, on the one downfield catch that Williams had, it was a leaping grab that left him about a yard short of scoring a TD. On the play, he lay on the field, and the medical staff eventually assisted him off with an undisclosed ailment, though he did return to action later.

Although many fantasy managers keep waiting for Williams to revert to the form he showed for the first 4 years of his career, it’s important to understand why things are different. His former coaches used him as a situational deep threat while the new coaching staff uses him as a true alpha, or ‘X’ WR. That’s an extremely valuable role in OC Joe Lombardi’s offense. Aside from his bad game a few weeks ago and his injury-marred performance this week, it’s very reasonable to expect him to perform as a WR2 with weekly WR1 upside.

Week 5
What is there to say about Mike Williams this season? He has clearly broken out in a contract year and will look to secure a big payday as long as he can stay healthy. Williams leads the NFL in receiving TDs and is 5th in receiving yards. It’s not like all this production has come at the expense of Allen as he currently sits 5th in receptions and 17th in yards. We should point out Williams did have a big day vs. a Browns secondary in Week 5 that lost 3 DB starters. However, Williams saw 15 targets. Even in tough matchups, 15 targets will keep Williams fantasy relevant throughout the season.
This week the Chargers will have a tougher test vs. the Ravens. The Ravens did just allow a solid day to Michael Pittman (6-89-1). This makes Mike Williams a must start again in Week 6.

Week 4
Williams caught 1 of 4 targets for 11 yards in the Chargers' Week 4 win over the Raiders.
Justin Herbert missed Williams on what likely would have been an 82-yard TD in the first half when Williams torched backup CB Damon Arnette off the line. Williams had multiple steps on the defender only to see Herbert sail the ball over his head.
It was a shame to see Williams get only 4 targets as the Raiders had several injured DBs, but the Chargers built an early lead and then relied on their strong run game.
Williams is an every week WR2 with WR1 upside.

Week 3
Williams continued his superhuman start to the 2021 season, snagging 7 balls for 122 yards and 2 scores. Williams roasted the DB on one 20-yard score. On another, he simply used his size to box out the DB for an end zone fade. Williams’ usage continues to be encouraging, as he’s no longer a strict deep threat. That figures to keep his floor high going forward. And we love what we’ve seen from Justin Herbert, who’s arm talent, arm strength and anticipation have all looked elite. Fire up Williams as a WR1/2 for a Week 4 date against Vegas.

Week 2
Williams made 7 catches on 10 targets for 91 yards and LA’s only receiving TD, his 2nd this season. Another pass against Dallas that would have gone for 31 yards was negated by a penalty. He is performing like a player in the last year of his contract who wants to sign a big deal beginning next season – which he is. Two of the next 3 opponents, Kansas City and Cleveland, have been among the top 10 pass defenses thus far. Don’t be surprised if Williams has another big game on Sunday when the Chargers try to play catch-up against the Chiefs.

Week 1
After failing to reach 90 targets (or 6 per game) in any of his first 4 years in the league, Williams was heavily utilized in Joe Lombardi’s new offense to the tune of 12 targets and one of his better fantasy finishes over the past few years. That said, his day could’ve been even better, but he dropped a couple of very catchable passes that also kept him from hitting the 100-yard mark.

After 1 game, it looks like Lombardi’s preseason talk about making Williams his ‘X’ WR seems to have merit, and although things can change quickly, there’s reason to believe that he’ll be a major component of the passing attack. As a former top-10 pick in the NFL draft, he’s never had his talents fully put on display, and if given the chance, there’s no reason to think that he can’t have a breakout season. Since his stat line wasn’t massive, he’s still a player who may be acquired via trade if the fantasy GM rostering him isn’t sold on him.

Preseason Player Analysis

What You Need to Know:

Williams dealt with a few different injuries last year. He sprained his shoulder in late August but was available for Week 1. He exited Week 3 with a hamstring injury and missed the following game. Then a back injury knocked him out 2 snaps into Week 14 and limited him to just 42% of the snaps in Week 15.
In his 12 healthy games, Williams averaged 6.8 targets, 3.8 catches, 60 yards and .4 TDs.
His scoring averages in those games would have ranked 40th among WRs in PPR points and 36th in non-PPR.
Williams finished 32nd and 39th in PPR points in 2018 and 2019; 21st and 37th in non-PPR.
He missed 1 game in 2019 with a back injury and 6 games as a rookie in 2017 -- 5 with a mild disc herniation in his lower back and 1 with a bone bruise on his right knee. He fractured the C6 vertebrae at the base of his neck in the 1st game of the 2015 season at Clemson.
QB Justin Herbert is back for his 2nd season with the Chargers after an impressive rookie campaign.
WR Keenan Allen and RB Austin Ekeler, who ranked 1st and 4th on the team in targets last year, are back.
But the Chargers lost TE Hunter Henry, who finished 2nd on the team with 93 targets in 14 games last year. TE Jared Cook was signed to a 1-year deal but is unlikely to soak up all of those targets Henry leaves behind.
So there’s an opportunity for Williams to claim a bigger target share in 2021.
He’ll be playing in a new offense under OC Joe Lombardi.
- He served as Lions OC in 2014 and 2015, leading the team to 12th- and 9th-place finishes in passing yards.
- He also spent 12 years in New Orleans working under HC Sean Payton.
- We’re expecting Lombardi to be an upgrade over the previous offense under HC Anthony Lynn and OC Shane Steichen.
Lombardi talked up Williams’ potential in his offense in early June: “I see a big role for him. If I were a betting man, I’d bet on nice numbers coming from him on the stat sheet, that’s for sure. As much as this offense will resemble New Orleans, he plays the ‘X’ and the ball has always kind of found the ‘X’ receiver in this offense. I think that there will be some natural production that comes his way because of the nature of the offense.”

Draft Sharks Bottom Line:

Injuries -- specifically to his back -- have been a problem for Williams. But he’s produced as a borderline WR3 when on the field over the past 3 seasons.

There’s upside for even better in 2021 if QB Justin Herbert takes a step forward and OC Joe Lombardi proves to be an upgrade.

Highlight Williams on your MVP Board as an upside bench stash.

Recent Shark Bites View All Shark Bites »

Chargers WR Mike Williams has been activated from the COVID list, putting him on track to return for Sunday's game vs. the Broncos. Williams has scored as a WR3 since a hot start to the season and carries some extra risk this week in his first game back from COVID.

View all Mike Williams Shark Bites »

Chargers HC Brandon Staley confirmed Monday that WR Mike Williams will miss the Week 17 game against the Broncos. That's because Williams tested positive for COVID late last week and is unvaccinated. So he's forced to stay away from the team for at least 10 days. Jalen Guyton has yet to return from the COVID list but could see an elevated role if he makes it back in time. Josh Palmer also gains prominence with Williams out.

View all Mike Williams Shark Bites »

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Chargers WR Mike Williams will miss at least 10 days after testing positive for COVID Saturday, meaning that he's unvaccinated. That'll knock Williams out for at least the team's Week 17 game as well. Josh Palmer should fill in vs. Houston. Jalen Guyton will likely be back in time for Week 17, though.

View all Mike Williams Shark Bites »

The Chargers have placed WR Mike Williams on the COVID list. It's his 2nd stint this year, but the 1st came as a close contact. He's out for Sunday's game against the Texans. With Jalen Guyton already on the COVID list, Josh Palmer should be the #2 WR alongside Keenan Allen. He carries intrigue from at least WR4 territory. We wouldn't be shocked to see him rank among the top 25 WRs by the end of the week.

View all Mike Williams Shark Bites »

Chargers WR Mike Williams is officially active for today’s game vs. the Giants. He spent the week on the COVID list after being deemed a close contact of WR Keenan Allen. But Williams never tested positive for the virus and should be ready for a full workload today.

View all Mike Williams Shark Bites »

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