Fantasy Football: Top 15 Running Backs to Target in 2019
By Cullen Jekel
FANTASY FOOTBALL RUNNING BACKS TO TARGET IN 2019
NUMBER 13 – DAMIEN WILLIAMS
Here’s perhaps this list’s biggest enigma. Damien Williams, 27, played very sparingly over his first four seasons with the Miami Dolphins, a team that used him mostly as a receiving threat. In 2016, he scored six total touchdowns, but in his other three years, he scored a total of just three.
Last year, Williams first in Kansas City, he hardly played until the team’s December match-up against the Oakland Raiders. In the 11 preceding games, he had three rushing attempts and three receptions. Even in the Chiefs final five games, all which featured Williams to some extent, he had at most 13 rushing attempts.
But in that limited time, he exceeded 100 total yards twice and scored a total of six touchdowns, four on the ground and two through the air. He followed that up with an excellent playoffs that saw him score four total touchdowns, rush for over 150 yards and collect just under 100 yards receiving.
The rub, of course, is, can Williams keep it going? Was his performance during the latter stage of 2018 the real deal? Or is Williams more the running back he appeared to be as part of the Dolphins organization?
I’m going with the former. I think Williams turned a corner when he took over for Kareem Hunt (released) and Spencer Ware (injured) last season. It certainly helps that he plays in a scheme developed by offensive mastermind Andy Reid and run to damn near perfection by Patrick Mahomes II.
Williams is ranked this low only because I’m a little less optimistic he can perform as a team’s lead back for an entire season, something he’s never before done. But it wouldn’t surprise me in the least bit if he does.