Jamaal Williams

Jamaal Williams

28-Year-Old Running BackRB
New Orleans Saints
2023 Fantasy Outlook
Williams is more of a Culture Guy than a playmaker, but his 2022 season was a reminder that being a Culture Guy can get you a big opportunity every once in a while. Running behind a loaded Detroit O-line in one of the league's most well-schemed offenses, Williams saw his usage spike in highly favorable circumstances, securing a near-monopoly on goal-line carries in an offense that moved the ball all year and didn't score many distance TDs until December. Now in New Orleans on a three-year contract, Williams won't necessarily be used the same way the Lions used him in 2022. Even if the Saints see Williams as their primary goal-line back, the trio of Taysom Hill, Alvin Kamara and third-round pick Kendre Miller represents tougher competition for high-value touches than D'Andre Swift alone provided in Detroit. The best hope for Williams putting up consistent numbers might be the first month of the season while Kamara serves a three-game suspension. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
$Signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Saints in March of 2023.
Scores late in season finale
RBNew Orleans Saints
January 7, 2024
Williams compiled 14 rushes for 26 yards and one touchdown and gathered in all three targets for eight yards during Sunday's 48-17 victory versus the Falcons.
ANALYSIS
Williams ended up having a quiet night while stepping up in the absence of starting running back Alvin Kamara (ankle). Williams was expected to handle the majority of the Saints' rushing workload, but he ultimately logged just one more carry than rookie Kendre Miller, who led the team with 73 yards and tallied a rushing score in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Williams struggled to find much success, logging just one rushing attempt longer than five yards. He salvaged his underwhelming outing with a one-yard rushing touchdown on the Saints' final offensive series. Williams finishes his first season in New Orleans with 106 carries for 306 yards and one touchdown across 13 games. The 28-year-old has two remaining seasons on his current contract with the Saints.
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NFL Stats
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Fantasy/Red Zone Stats
See red zone opportunities inside the 20, 10 and 5-yard lines along with the percentage of time they converted the opportunity into a touchdown.
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Advanced NFL Stats
How do Jamaal Williams' 2023 advanced stats compare to other running backs?
This section compares his advanced stats with players at the same position. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that metric and it would be considered average. The longer the bar, the better it is for the player.
  • Broken Tackle %
    The number of broken tackles divided by rush attempts.
  • Positive Run %
    The percentage of run plays where he was able to gain positive yardage.
  • % Yds After Contact
    The percentage of his rushing yards that came after contact.
  • Avg Yds After Contact
    The average rushing yards he gains after contact.
  • Rushing TD %
    Rushing touchdowns divided by rushing attempts. In other words, how often is he scoring when running the ball.
  • Touches Per Game
    The number of touches (rushing attempts + receptions) he is averaging per game
  • % Snaps w/Touch
    The number of touches (rushing attempts + receptions) divided by offensive snaps played.
  • Air Yards Per Game
    The number of air yards he is averaging per game. Air yards measure how far the ball was thrown downfield for both complete and incomplete passes. Air yards are recorded as a negative value when the pass is targeted behind the line of scrimmage. All air yards data is from Sports Info Solutions and does not include throwaways as targeted passes.
  • Air Yards Per Snap
    The number of air yards he is averaging per offensive snap.
  • % Team Air Yards
    The percentage of the team's total air yards he accounts for.
  • % Team Targets
    The percentage of the team's total targets he accounts for.
  • Avg Depth of Target
    Also known as aDOT, this stat measures the average distance down field he is being targeted at.
  • Catch Rate
    The number of catches made divided by the number of times he was targeted by the quarterback.
  • Drop Rate
    The number of passes he dropped divided by the number of times he was targeted by the quarterback.
  • Avg Yds After Catch
    The number of yards he gains after the catch on his receptions.
  • % Targeted On Route
    Targets divided by total routes run. Also known as TPRR.
  • Avg Yds Per Route Run
    Receiving yards divided by total routes run. Also known as YPRR.
Broken Tackle %
8.5%
 
Positive Run %
79.2%
 
% Yds After Contact
69.9%
 
Avg Yds After Contact
2.0
 
Rushing TD %
0.9%
 
Touches Per Game
9.5
 
% Snaps w/Touch
39.2%
 
Air Yards Per Game
-3.3
 
Air Yards Per Snap
-0.14
 
% Team Air Yards
-0.9%
 
% Team Targets
3.6%
 
Avg Depth of Target
-2.0 Yds
 
Catch Rate
90.0%
 
Drop Rate
0.0%
 
Avg Yds After Catch
5.1
 
% Targeted On Route
15.7%
 
Avg Yds Per Route Run
0.49
 
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2023
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2023 NFL Game Log
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2022 NFL Game Log
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Snap Distribution / Depth Chart
Snap Counts
Snap %
New Orleans SaintsSaints 2023 RB Snap Distribution See more data like this | See last season's snap counts
#% of Team Snaps

53648%
31628%
11010%
858%
30%
20%
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Receiving Alignment Breakdown
See where Jamaal Williams lined up on the field and how he performed at each spot.
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2023 Jamaal Williams Split Stats
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Measurables Review View College Player Page
How do Jamaal Williams' measurables compare to other running backs?
This section compares his draft workout metrics with players at the same position. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that metric and it would be considered average.
* The Bench Press metric is from his Pro Day. All others are from the NFL Combine.
Height
6' 0"
 
Weight
224 lbs
 
40-Yard Dash
4.59 sec
 
Shuttle Time
4.53 sec
 
Cone Drill
7.25 sec
 
Vertical Jump
30.0 in
 
Broad Jump
123 in
 
Bench Press*
33 reps
 
Hand Length
10.00 in
 
Arm Length
31.25 in
 
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71 days ago
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
Williams' first year in Detroit was much like his four seasons in Green Bay. While the 27-year-old did set a career high in touches (by one), his efficiency was poor and no back with more than 100 carries averaged less than his 1.4 yards per carry after contact. Williams is a decent pass catcher, a good blocker and has never lost a fumble in his NFL career — valuable traits from a team standpoint. But there's little explosiveness or big-play ability in Williams' game, whereas teammate D'Andre Swift is more of a threat to pick up extra yards that aren't blocked. Williams had only one play of more than 20 yards in 2021, and he has only two plays of more than 40 yards in his career. Lions coach Dan Campbell values his work ethic and the stability he brings to the roster, but Williams' production depends entirely on volume, something that isn't at all stable given his role behind Swift in an offense with a subpar quarterback.
Williams was remarkably consistent through his four seasons in Green Bay, though depending on the perspective, that's not necessarily a compliment. A fourth-round pick in 2017, he actually led the club in rushing yards as a rookie before ceding the top job to Aaron Jones in their second season together, but Williams' numbers remained flat while Jones' production soared. Williams still delivered a solid 700 or so scrimmage yards and a handful of TDs every year, proving capable on all three downs and in all situations without really excelling in any. With Jones returning on a big contract and 2020 second-round pick AJ Dillon ready to step into a larger role, the Packers parted ways with Williams, only to see him land with their NFC North rivals. As the backup to D'Andre Swift, Williams will fill a role he's very accustomed to, and the Lions' subsequent decision to cut Kerryon Johnson loose removed his most obvious competition for those secondary snaps and touches.
While the surface numbers say Williams had his most productive season yet in the NFL - posting career highs with 4.3 YPC and 39 catches while tying the six total touchdowns he scored as a rookie - it's likely 2019 was his high-water mark. Aaron Jones definitively emerged as the Packers' top backfield option, and while Williams' blocking and receiving skills allowed him to be plugged in as Jones' sub in just about any situation, a lack of speed and elusiveness mean he has little upside. Williams will get the yards the offensive line and scheme create for him, but not much else. His surprising spike in receiving touchdowns also seems unsustainable, as four of his five scores came during a four-game stretch in which Davante Adams Aaron Rodgers' preferred red-zone target - was on the shelf or at less than 100 percent healthy. With 2020 second-round pick AJ Dillon (6-0, 247) also in the mix and likely to handle whatever goal-line carries Jones doesn't get, Williams looks headed for a reduced role.
Williams' second season in the NFL was similar to his first. His grinding running style and lack of speed led to another year of less than 4.0 YPC, and Aaron Jones' performance cleared up any doubt about who should be the Packers' No. 1 RB. Williams has his uses, particularly in short-yardage situations, but he was less effective as a receiver than he had been as a rookie and simply doesn't have the big-play upside of Jones. The front office did little to bolster the depth chart behind the duo in the offseason, only adding Dexter Williams to the running back mix and waiting until the sixth round to do so, so the more veteran Williams will once again play second fiddle to Jones and handle the grunt work in the trenches. Aside from a prolonged injury absence for Jones, the best-case scenario for Jamaal Williams involves an increase in his goal-line work that leads to more TDs (he saw only two carries inside the 5-yard line in 2018). Of course, the Packers tend to lean on Aaron Rodgers in the red zone, and Williams hasn't made any real case to change that.
Once Ty Montgomery and Aaron Jones broke down, Williams got his chance as the lead back in Green Bay and held his own, averaging more than 93 scrimmage yards per game over the second half of the season and scoring five touchdowns even with Brett Hundley under center. Williams, a fourth-round pick out of BYU, was projected as a possible goal-line weapon given his size (6-0, 213) and physical running style, but he proved surprisingly adept as a receiver as well. After catching only 33 passes over his final three college campaigns, he pulled down 25 of 34 targets for Green Bay. Despite a minor knee injury picked up early in the season, he also played all 16 games, dimming concerns that his lack of elusiveness could leave him injury-prone in the NFL. The team will have a lot of competition in the backfield during training camp, but his solid finish to 2017 and Jones' two-game suspension to start this season give Williams a leg up on the starting job Week 1.
Despite being a fourth-round pick, Williams has the size (6-0, 212) and strength to be an early-down back in the NFL and has shown the ability to keep his legs churning and pick up extra yards after contact, making him a potentially effective complement to converted wide receiver Ty Montgomery in the Packers' backfield. Williams had trouble staying on the field in college, missing time in his final two seasons with knee and ankle issues, and his physical running style and lack of elusiveness could lead to more injuries in the NFL. He also doesn't figure to catch many passes, as he only had 15 receptions his last two seasons at BYU. Even with Montgomery in the lead role, there should be plenty of snaps available in Green Bay's backfield, but Williams' limited skill set could prevent him from inheriting more than a small portion of them.
More Fantasy News
Set to fill in for Kamara
RBNew Orleans Saints
January 7, 2024
Williams is in line to lead the Saints backfield Sunday versus the Falcons with Alvin Kamara (ankle) inactive.
ANALYSIS
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Steps up in Week 17 win
RBNew Orleans Saints
December 31, 2023
Williams tallied 19 carries for 58 yards and gathered in all four targets for 13 yards during Sunday's 23-13 win over the Buccaneers.
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Doesn't do much with nine touches
RBNew Orleans Saints
December 17, 2023
Williams (groin) rushed eight times for 24 yards and caught his only target for two yards in Sunday's 24-6 win over the Giants.
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Suiting up in Week 15
RBNew Orleans Saints
December 17, 2023
Williams (groin) is listed as active Sunday versus the Giants.
ANALYSIS
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Expected to face Giants
RBNew Orleans Saints
Groin
December 16, 2023
Williams (groin), who is officially listed as questionable, is expected to play Sunday against the Giants, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
ANALYSIS
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