Mike

Williams

Williams tore his ACL in Week 3 of the 2023 season. The Jets, looking to add playmakers for Aaron Rodgers, took a flyer on the veteran wideout with a one-year, $10 million contract in the following offseason. Williams never found his footing in New York and was eventually thrown under the bus by Rodgers for running the wrong route in a Week 6 loss to Buffalo. The team traded him to Pittsburgh a few weeks later. Williams never amounted to much in Pittsburgh, peaking at three catches for 36 yards in a single game. He ended the season with 21 catches for 298 yards and one score across the two teams. The veteran wideout should have suitors in free agency this spring, but he appears to be much more of a role-player than a starting wide receiver at this point in his career.

Williams saw modest playing time even without alpha George Pickens and with Ben Skowronek departing early with injury, making it likely we fail to see useful fantasy scores emerge from the veteran receiver the rest of the 2024 season. Pickens appears likely to return to the active roster for a Week 17 showdown with the 14-1 Chiefs, adding to those expectations.

Tomlin on Tuesday said Pickens’ hamstring injury — suffered during last Thursday’s practice — was more serious than first thought. “But when we got to the stadium, it was evident that maybe the circumstance was maybe a little more significant than we had hoped,” Tomlin said. “So, we made the prudent decision in terms of shutting him down and not allowing a small problem to become a bigger one.” It would appear that Pickens will miss at least one more game, and possibly more as the Steelers make their way toward a postseason berth. Mike Williams and Scotty Miller led the team with four targets last week against the Browns with Pickens sidelined as the Steelers dropped back on just 47 percent of their offensive snaps.

Williams made a signature highlight-reel catch in the third quarter as he separated from his defender and torqued his body mid-air to secure a one-handed grab for 22 yards. He could have had a much bigger day if not for Russell Wilson sailing a deep pass over his head in the first quarter, but Sunday’s performance against the Browns feels like Williams’ ceiling as far as this season is concerned. It’s possible the Steelers are still easing him into the lineup, but we wouldn’t expect him make a fantasy impact in Week 15 if George Pickens (hamstring) is back in the lineup.

Since being traded to the Steelers, Williams has just one catch for 32 yards and a touchdown. His snap count was boosted from a nine-snap Week 10, but it hasn’t exactly exploded: he has 25, 19, and 17 snaps respectively over the last three weeks. He’s probably not worth hanging on to at this point in redraft leagues.

Williams has now posted back-to-back zero-target efforts, and has all of one look in three games as a Steeler. We will let you know if you have to start paying attention in fantasy again.

With just over two minutes to go in the fourth quarter and the Steelers trailing by six, Williams streaked down the left sideline toward the end zone. He wound up finding himself on the receiving end of a 32-yard bomb from Russell Wilson, which he brought in to secure the touchdown and the win for the Steelers. Williams was acquired by the Steelers at last week’s trade deadline and didn’t have much involvement in the game prior to his catch. He wound up turning the game into an exciting debut, and should see his role grow in the coming weeks. It’s too early to trust him as a viable fantasy asset, but Williams is worth a speculative add in deeper leagues.

One of the more oft-rumored trades of the past few weeks, as the Steelers seemed interested in moving on Williams the second the Jets acquired Davante Adams, finally gets done. Williams hasn’t done well enough as a Jet to walk into fantasy value in Pittsburgh, but he might be worth a stash in deeper fantasy leagues. Xavier Gipson and Malachi Corley will step into slightly bigger roles in the Jets offense with Williams gone and Allen Lazard on IR, but neither of them are worth counting on in fantasy football. The Jets recoup a fifth-round pick for a player who they had clearly lost confidence in, which is a slight win.

Thielen is out for Week 9 with a hamstring issue. With their season already over, the Panthers have no reason to rush him back and are better off getting some draft picks in exchange for the veteran wideout. The Steelers, in turn, are shamelessly trotting out Van Jefferson as their No. 2 receiver. Both Thielen and Mike Williams would be upgrades over Jefferson and neither will cost much to acquire. Thielen topped 1,000 yards for the first time since 2018 last year but has spent most of the 2024 season on injured reserve. He would be a lowly WR4/5 on Pittsburgh’s run-first offense if traded.

The Steelers and Williams have been connected since the moment the Jets trade for Davante Adams. It seems almost impressive that the sides haven’t made the move yet, though perhaps the Jets are simply hoping for more of a market to develop. Williams would give the Steelers another moonball outside winner next to George Pickens, though Williams has not exactly been so dominant with the Jets that he’d cut in to Pickens’ workload.