Fantasy Football: One Deep Sleeper Candidate From Every NFL Team

Jonathan Williams, RB, Buffalo Bills

The hype on Jonathan Williams, a 2016 fifth-round-pick by the Buffalo Bills, was somewhat muted following an injury plagued career at Arkansas. He essentially split carries with Alex Collins for most of his college career, but he missed the 2015 season after undergoing foot surgery. He finished his final two seasons with 2,090 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns in that split backfield.

After being drafted into a backfield that featured Lesean McCoy, Mike Gillislee and rookie sensation Karlos Williams, it seemed unlikely the former Razorback would make much noise early in his career. Yet only one year later, Williams is now the direct backup to the 29-year-old McCoy -- following the departure of Gillislee and the suspension (and departure) of Williams -- in an offense built around the ground game. The past two seasons, Buffalo has ranked second (2016) and first (2015) in schedule-adjusted Rushing NEP per play as a team.

Williams is an old-school runner at 5'11", 220 pounds, built to smash the ball between the tackles with his thick frame and excellent vision. But he also demonstrated surprising burst throughout preseason action, and perhaps most importantly, consistency as a blocker in the passing game. He has 11 carries for 68 yards so far in summer action, but Williams is still largely unknown as an NFL prospect.

The Bills seem to be in full rebuilding mode following the trades of Sammy Watkins and Ronald Darby, and it isn’t outside the realm of possibility that the team will look to move on from McCoy, who turns 30 next year, as they continue to look towards the future. Regardless, Williams is one injury away from being a feature player behind a good offensive line, and he deserves to be rostered in any format.