Javonte Williams Fantasy Outlook Booming After Nathaniel Hackett's Comments on Offensive Game Plan

Week 1 was full of fantasy surprises, but emergence of running back Javonte Williams as an elite pass-catching back had to be one of the most shocking results. It shouldn't be moving forward, though. Head coach Nathaniel Hackett's comments on Friday morning keep Williams' fantasy outlook at an all-time high.

Javonte Williams Fantasy Outlook

Hackett explained that involving running backs in the passing game is "integral" to the success of his offensive scheme. Williams hauled in 11 of his team-high 12 targets on Sunday for 65 yards, which is insane considering he logged 316 yards on 43 receptions during the entire 2021 season.

It's also worth mentioning that 5 of Williams' 11 receptions came off screen passes. He was only on the field for 11 screen plays across 17 games last year. Hackett clearly wants to get Williams the football with blockers in front of him so that he can break out for a big gain down the field.

The comments make a ton of sense when looking at the Green Bay Packers' offense under Hackett's guidance. Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon combined to post 704 yards and 8 touchdowns on 86 catches last season. It was the main reason they both finished as top-24 RBs in PPR fantasy football leagues.

Williams' ability to leak out as a receiver adds a whole other dimension to his fantasy ceiling. This is already a player that tallied the second-most broken tackles as a rookie and averaged 6.1 yards per carry in Week 1. He has proven capable of being a consistent ground-and-pound kind of rusher.

For now, Williams checks in as the No. 21 RB in The Duel's Week 2 PPR fantasy football rankings.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. 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.