D’Andre Swift suffered a shoulder injury on Thanksgiving which ultimately derailed the beastly workhorse run he was on over the past few weeks. As Jamaal Williams always has, whether it was in Green Bay or Detroit, he carried the three-down load during the starter’s absence. Now with Swift sidelined with the shoulder sprain for what could be ‘multiple weeks,’ Williams could ultimately be a fantasy league winner down the stretch as the Lions’ only three-down back.
With the Vikings, Broncos, Cardinals, Falcons, and Seahawks on deck, Williams will be able to show off his tough running prowess and his pass-catching skills when called upon.
Since returning from a thigh injury two weeks ago, Williams has 76 rushing yards on 22 carries and five receptions. He also averaged over 70 yards rushing in games where he toted the rock 15 times or more in place of Aaron Jones last season.
“It’s no different than any other injury when you lose a guy who’s been very productive for us, somebody’s got to pick up the slack,” Dan Campbell said. “And the good news is we’ve got Jamaal back. We got him back, and so this’ll be his third week to get back and get in the flow here a little bit, so certainly we’re going to lean on Jamaal quite a bit. But, look, we’re going to use Godwin, we’re going to use Jefferson. That’s part of the plan. They’re all going to be able to play. It’s a little bit by committee, but I think you’re going to see a lot of Jamaal Williams.”
This week, Williams gets the Vikings, who rank 30th against the run and 30th in total defense.
The veteran back checks in at RB36 on our Rest of Season Big Board and RB19 on our Week 13 Fantasy Rankings.
