Damion Willis Fantasy Outlook After Being Named Bengals Starter in A.J. Green's Absence

It's not always the big names who bring you the most value in fantasy football. Just look at Kansas City Chiefs' RB Damien Williams. Prior to Kareem Hunt's release, few fantasy owners had even heard of Williams. Yet, by the end of the 2018 season, he became a top-tier fantasy asset once given the opportunity.

While it may be tough to envision a similar breakout for undrafted Cincinnati Bengals' rookie WR Damion Willis, he was named the starter in A.J. Green's absence, and he could quickly become fantasy relevant as long as Green remains sidelined.

Zac Taylor said Damion Willis has earned a starting spot as a wide receiver. He won't play this week against Indianapolis.
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) August 25, 2019

With Green likely out of the picture until about Week 4, Willis will draw the start opposite Tyler Boyd. Cincinnati's offense doesn't exactly appear to be a reliable source of fantasy points, but both Boyd and Green were top-25 WRs on a per-game basis in 2018.

That suggests Andy Dalton could produce enough to support two fantasy-relevant WRs once again in 2019, which would mean Willis has a shot at decent production over the first quarter of the season.

Even though reading too much into preseason stats is often a fool's errand, it's hard not to be optimistic about Willis' production thus far. The Troy product has racked up 118 yards on nine receptions and one TD in the preseason.

First TD for Damion Willis = TD celebration. #NYGvsCIN pic.twitter.com/aEd92WcCbf
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) August 23, 2019

If you're in a deeper league, Willis should almost be certainly available on the waiver wire, and he could become a solid source of production until Green is back and healthy in Cincinnati.

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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.