Rookie Profile: Isaiah Williams, Wide Receiver, Detroit Lions
Welcome to the Rookie Profile: Isaiah Williams, was a 4-star recruit who grew up in St. Louis and attended Trinity Catholic High School. He was named the Gatorade Football Player of the Year for the state of Missouri in both his junior and senior seasons, and played in the All-America game in 2019.
After committing to the University of Illinois, Williams was a 3rd year freshman before he saw meaningful playing time, converting from quarterback to wide receiver at that time. But he didn’t fully breakout until his senior season, where he earned First-team All-Big Ten honors after posting more than 1000 receiving yards.
The Fighting Illini’s leading receiver for three straight seasons, Williams more than held his own in the Big Ten. The only question is what role can he carve out on an NFL team?
Measurables
Draft Capital & Landing Spot
Draft Capital- Undrafted Free Agent Signing
- The focal point of the Fighting Illini passing attack for three full seasons clearly isn’t enough to get you drafted. Still, Williams did sign on in Detroit. Opportunity exists for a long-term role if he can prove he has some juice at the next level.
Landing Spot- Detroit Lions
- This season, it’ll be unlikely for Williams to overtake veterans Kalif Raymond and Donovan Peoples-Jones. Still, overcoming these names isn’t exactly a tall task. He could eventually offer decent bench value for fantasy teams, especially in the even of an injury to the top pass catchers in the Motor City.
Team Depth Chart
Expected Role: Developmental Wide Receiver
Depth Chart via Fantasy Pros
Fantasy Impact
There’s not much to see here at the moment. Williams will need to sit, learn and grow. However, if things progress quickly for him and he can utilise his quickness to get open, it won’t be difficult to see Williams as the piece that rounds out this offense. Even still, he’d be dead last in the target pecking order. That’s fifth at best behind Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs and Jameson Williams.
For now, he is a taxi squad stash who will need some things to fall in his favor in order to find his way onto the fantasy map. He is a great target on your watch list.
Check out our 2024 Rookie Rankings Page for a full breakdown of this rookie class.
