Kansas City Chiefs RB Damien Williams is getting some love from the fantasy football community today.
ESPN recently unveiled selections for busts, sleepers, and breakouts from 11 different fantasy football analysts. One of their analysts, Field Yates was bold enough to select the Chiefs’ starting RB as his pick to break out during the 2019 season.
Here is how the folks at ESPN defined breakout players:
“A player who will leap into or close to the upper echelon of players at his position for the first time because of a dramatic increase in production compared with his previous seasons (or a rookie who will burst onto the scene).”
So it appears that Yates expects Williams to be in the top tier of players at the RB position for the first time in his career. It’s a bold take from Yates, because Williams has never been a starter since joining the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2014. Many are down on Williams because of that simple fact and because he’s not a household name, but when you look at what he did to end last season, there’s plenty of reasons for optimism.
He was prepared to take over after spending most of the season as a third-string RB in Kansas City. When it came to production, only Rams RB Todd Gurley had a stretch that matched the 10 touchdowns and 600 yards of offense that Williams put up in the final 6 games of the 2018 season. Williams got things done between the tackles, through the air, with speed, and with toughness.
Williams was a spark plug for an offense that didn’t have it’s full complement of skill players late in the season. When injuries mounted at the receiver and RB positions, he was the guy that came in and picked up the slack.
I have a feeling that Yates won’t be the last fantasy football guy to bet on Williams having a breakout season for the Chiefs. Keep an eye on Williams as potential steal, with fantasy football draft season is right around the corner. His average draft position is currently hovering around an early second-round pick in most fantasy football formats.
