Tampa Mike Williams....can he bounce back? (1 Viewer)

[Sabertooth]

I was offered Tampa Mike in a trade. And as I was searching the forums it is kind of funny. In August he was being compared to Dez Bryant and then his value looks like swirled like a toilet. So can he come back strong or does he simply lack what it takes to be anything more than a footnote?

He looked like a world beater in 2010. In 2011 his touchdowns dropped 75% as his targets remained the same. There were stories of his partying along with Blount being a big problem. There was talk that the coaching staff really viewed him more as a WR2. Now you have a new staff in place and another wideout in VJax. So what does this mean for Tampa Mike?

 

[Warhogs]

I voted improve. I interpreted thge poll to mean from last year's numbers. The guy got open deep a lot his rookie year. Last year the wheels fell off completely in Tampa Bay. VJax taking on a lot of the opponents attention should help Mike. I believe maturity issues were one of the knocks on him coming out of college so we all have to hope he can learn to focus on football.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

depends on if he works on his craft or not, the league figured out he had 1 move and took it away. Im betting against him.

 

[Sabertooth]

depends on if he works on his craft or not, the league figured out he had 1 move and took it away. Im betting against him.

All indications are that he lacked work ethic last season, so I tend to agree. OTOH, he looked great his rookie season and Tampa just kind of imploded last year. They may take the step forward this season that many thought they would take last season.

 

[MAC_32]

Never been a fan. He had major red flags coming out of school and they reared their ugly head after he had the success that he did in year #1. Obviously I missed the good year in most leagues (got to him before some in my August/September re-drafts after missing him in all dynos), but I missed the bad one too. I'd be more inclined to buy into the reclamation project if he were cheap enough IF they didn't bring in a regime that wants to have a ground heavy attack and pick their spots through the air. But they did. I can't imagine taking him on as anything more than a bench WR unless I were really desperate and his owner really wanted to get rid of him.

 

[saintfool]

i think a lot of it depends on how good a coach schiano is. the team gave up last year, quite frankly. it was a young team that kind of overachieved two years ago but didn't seem prepared for year two. the whole team regressed.

mwilliams is not a true #1 WR. jackson should help him. they're still a bad team but it's kind of make or break for williams, i think.

 

[Run It Up]

I think VJax helps Williams. I think the Buccs in general improve this year (not hard to do lol, but I mean better than 2010).

60/800/8 for little mike

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

Best route runner on that team is Preston parker.

i really don't have high expectations for mike Williams or benn. mike can run one route (fade) and benn lacks suddenness to be an effective slot guy.

Really wouldn't be shocked to see mike (or maybe benn) dealt during the draft for later round pick.

 

[Sabertooth]

He's pretty scary to be honest. This staff is not beholden to him at all. He's just another 4th round pick to them. It will be interesting to see if the two partiers "Williams and Blount" are replaced via the draft.

 

[scothawk]

Im hoping that Freeman plays better this year (not difficult) and VJax opens up the field for him.

Im buying where I can. But sellers want first round value - Im thinking late 2nd in rookie pick terms

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

He's pretty scary to be honest. This staff is not beholden to him at all. He's just another 4th round pick to them. It will be interesting to see if the two partiers "Williams and Blount" are replaced via the draft.

players with limited skill sets are replaced all the time.

 

[Sabertooth]

He's pretty scary to be honest. This staff is not beholden to him at all. He's just another 4th round pick to them. It will be interesting to see if the two partiers "Williams and Blount" are replaced via the draft.

players with limited skill sets are replaced all the time.

every player has a limited skill set

 

[Abraham]

I think he becomes the third or fourth option on offense behind Jackson, Winslow, and whoever the RB is. 50 catches and 700 yards type of player that you can draft on any one of a dozen teams.

 

[RBM]

I think hes done.

 

[Raiderfan32904]

I think he becomes the third or fourth option on offense behind Jackson, Winslow, and whoever the RB is. 50 catches and 700 yards type of player that you can draft on any one of a dozen teams.

I still think he's the 2nd option. He has VJAX opposite him and the safeties will cheat to his side, and Williams will find more separation than last year. He's not a #1 WR, and last year it showed. I like his chances at bounceback year, something significantly better than last year, but not as good as 2010. I doubt that Winslow will be anything more than the 3rd target, and wouldn't be surprised if he's dealt away at some point this offseason. And the RB you speak of wouldn't happen to be L. Blount would it? I don't think so. If it's T. Richardson, that I could see.

 

[mlball77]

This is a tough one for me to gauge. To some extent, I agree with the camp that thinks VJax's down field play-making ability will help open things up for Williams (and others). But on the other hand, there are a lot of mouths to feed and the receiving pie in TB will only be so big (it doesn't seem primed to jump to an elite status).

At some point later on this offseason, I'll have to really look at what I think is reasonable from the TB passing game as a whole and then break that out for VJax, Williams, Winslow, etc.

Right now, I'd guess that Williams' targets will be down a bit from the last two years, but I'd expect a small uptick in the completion percentage of passes to him and his YPR from last year (as a result of the attention VJax will garner). -I'm not factoring in the attitude/off field stuff. It may well have an impact, but I don't even know what to think there, so I'm not going to try to factor that in at this point.



My guess right now is something like: 55 Recs, 725 Yards, 5 TDs (on 103 targets)

This puts his targets down about 20+ from the last two years since VJax will be getting a lot of looks from Freeman, but this is also about a 1.5 percentage point increase in the completion percentage of targets for Williams (as compared to the last two years).

 

[Otis]

1260, 8

 

[cstu]

I think he becomes the third or fourth option on offense behind Jackson, Winslow, and whoever the RB is. 50 catches and 700 yards type of player that you can draft on any one of a dozen teams.

I still think he's the 2nd option. He has VJAX opposite him and the safeties will cheat to his side, and Williams will find more separation than last year. He's not a #1 WR, and last year it showed. I like his chances at bounceback year, something significantly better than last year, but not as good as 2010. I doubt that Winslow will be anything more than the 3rd target, and wouldn't be surprised if he's dealt away at some point this offseason. And the RB you speak of wouldn't happen to be L. Blount would it? I don't think so. If it's T. Richardson, that I could see.

Winslow had almost as many targets (119) as Williams (125) last year. Unless Winslow gets injured (serious possibility) I see Williams getting less targets than last year with the addition of VJax. I think 50/700/7 is where he'll end up.

 

[Raiderfan32904]

I think he becomes the third or fourth option on offense behind Jackson, Winslow, and whoever the RB is. 50 catches and 700 yards type of player that you can draft on any one of a dozen teams.

I still think he's the 2nd option. He has VJAX opposite him and the safeties will cheat to his side, and Williams will find more separation than last year. He's not a #1 WR, and last year it showed. I like his chances at bounceback year, something significantly better than last year, but not as good as 2010. I doubt that Winslow will be anything more than the 3rd target, and wouldn't be surprised if he's dealt away at some point this offseason. And the RB you speak of wouldn't happen to be L. Blount would it? I don't think so. If it's T. Richardson, that I could see.

Winslow had almost as many targets (119) as Williams (125) last year. Unless Winslow gets injured (serious possibility) I see Williams getting less targets than last year with the addition of VJax. I think 50/700/7 is where he'll end up.

If Winslow stays on the team, I don't disagree. But the new regime is pretty old school. "Coach Schiano" as he's made clear. Last year, guys on the sideline would say, "Hey Rah, sup?" Coach Schiano has a rep of strict discipline and the loose ship that Winslow operated in under Raheem Morris is over now. Winslow is a pathetic blocker and is always tapping the helmet after every catch. He also regulary skips Wednesday practices complaining of bumps and bruises. He's a diva on a team that can't and won't stand for divas. I think he's done, one way or the other.

 

[Lott's Fingertip]

I don't see big things for Williams, but do think Winslow will lose targets before him.

 

[Kitrick Taylor]

So Mike Williams has been in the league 2 years. Year 1 showed us why he could have been a top 50 pick. Year two showed us why that talent fell to the 4th round.

I think he's currently underrated. At least around here. His game may not have been the most diverse year 1, but he did show he could be a red zone force. The biggest question dogging him right now is work ethic. It is a problem no doubt, and if he doesn't change things he could wash out of the league sooner rather than later. However, anyone remember all the work ethic questions about Brandon Lloyd? Josh McDaniels reached him, and made him into the #1 WR in fantasy in 2010. Williams hasn't truly made the big money yet, and he's got a whole new coaching staff in place. Maybe one of those two things will motivate him into becoming a viable fantasy WR again.

 

[Sabertooth]

So Mike Williams has been in the league 2 years. Year 1 showed us why he could have been a top 50 pick. Year two showed us why that talent fell to the 4th round. I think he's currently underrated. At least around here. His game may not have been the most diverse year 1, but he did show he could be a red zone force. The biggest question dogging him right now is work ethic. It is a problem no doubt, and if he doesn't change things he could wash out of the league sooner rather than later. However, anyone remember all the work ethic questions about Brandon Lloyd? Josh McDaniels reached him, and made him into the #1 WR in fantasy in 2010. Williams hasn't truly made the big money yet, and he's got a whole new coaching staff in place. Maybe one of those two things will motivate him into becoming a viable fantasy WR again.

I thought it was more maturity with Lloyd than work ethic. You make great points though. He's definitely a boom/bust type of guy in a very literal sense.

 

[flc735]

bump this

im buying on tampa mike.

freeman lost weight. not sure if this means anything but myabe improved footwork and better ability to extend plays which both help the passing game. but who knows.

add vjax, add probowl G carl nicks, add doug martin. both mike williams and blount seem to be rededicated.

all that means a better offense and more redzone trips, which is where williams excelled

williams entering his 3rd 'breakout' year.

no more kellen winslow, means more targets for the WRs

vjax will command the attention of the defenses, but he is not the type of WR that will command that many targets.

buy low?

 

[OrangeCurtain]

bump thisim buying on tampa mike. freeman lost weight. not sure if this means anything but myabe improved footwork and better ability to extend plays which both help the passing game. but who knows.add vjax, add probowl G carl nicks, add doug martin. both mike williams and blount seem to be rededicated.all that means a better offense and more redzone trips, which is where williams excelledwilliams entering his 3rd 'breakout' year.no more kellen winslow, means more targets for the WRsvjax will command the attention of the defenses, but he is not the type of WR that will command that many targets.buy low?

Bought low in auction for a buck, WR4 for me. I think he bounces back for reasons mentioned above. Better O line, legit runner who can pass block, and WR1 to take double teams off. All signs point up unless he's a head case and that takes over. If so I hit the waiver wire, so all upside for me

 

[xenon]

bump thisim buying on tampa mike. freeman lost weight. not sure if this means anything but myabe improved footwork and better ability to extend plays which both help the passing game. but who knows.add vjax, add probowl G carl nicks, add doug martin. both mike williams and blount seem to be rededicated.all that means a better offense and more redzone trips, which is where williams excelledwilliams entering his 3rd 'breakout' year.no more kellen winslow, means more targets for the WRsvjax will command the attention of the defenses, but he is not the type of WR that will command that many targets.buy low?

Bought low in auction for a buck, WR4 for me. I think he bounces back for reasons mentioned above. Better O line, legit runner who can pass block, and WR1 to take double teams off. All signs point up unless he's a head case and that takes over. If so I hit the waiver wire, so all upside for me

Definitely food for thought. I bought last year and had't considered it this year until now. If anything, #4 or #5 WR to start.

 

[Kitrick Taylor]

Current reports have Mike Williams in the best shape of his life, and proving it by having a great camp. Downside appears to be that the new offense will be more run oriented, and he's now the #2 WR in that offense. Additionally, Josh Freeman seems to be having troubles picking up the offense. Suffice it to say, MIke Williams may be primed to have his best year yet. It seems likely that the Bucs won't be able to take advantage of it.

 

[Bills_Fan11]

I took him in every mock draft and just now in my real draft as my WR4 (start 2 WRs and a flex). Someone said they'd only take him as a bench player, well duh, that's where you get him. I just think the upside is worth it even if there's a 75% chance he washes out. Don't really get why you'd take s Manningham sort of player instead when you can always find guys like that on the waiver wire.

 

[Bri]

Colt McCoy's old WR....came from Cincy to Tampa...can't think of his name.

He's one to watch that could throw a monkey wrench in here.

Shipley. Two years ago, he was top AFC rookie WR IIRC.

Here

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1306808-tampa-bay-buccaneers-jordan-shipley-impressive-and-a-full-go

I think this puts it in perspective well and he provides good links.

If Williams or any of their young WRs struggle, he brings a nice amount of camp pressure for everyone to produce and stop being just potential. Tampa needed this in a big way. They have tons of talent at WR that need to get rolling.

 

[flc735]

Colt McCoy's old WR....came from Cincy to Tampa...can't think of his name.He's one to watch that could throw a monkey wrench in here. Shipley. Two years ago, he was top AFC rookie WR IIRC.Herehttp://bleacherreport.com/articles/1306808-tampa-bay-buccaneers-jordan-shipley-impressive-and-a-full-goI think this puts it in perspective well and he provides good links.If Williams or any of their young WRs struggle, he brings a nice amount of camp pressure for everyone to produce and stop being just potential. Tampa needed this in a big way. They have tons of talent at WR that need to get rolling.

i dont think so. a team that was weak at wr cut him in week 2. if he had any potential, they would have at least looked at him through week 4best case, his injury is still slowing him down which could mean ciny cut him because of his injury and not his talent. he finishes the year strong (jeremy kerly strong) and he becomes a sleeper candidate next yearat this point, i would not pick him up in my 16 team 24 man roster dyno league

 

[Bri]

Colt McCoy's old WR....came from Cincy to Tampa...can't think of his name.

He's one to watch that could throw a monkey wrench in here.

Shipley. Two years ago, he was top AFC rookie WR IIRC.

Here

http://bleacherrepor...e-and-a-full-go

I think this puts it in perspective well and he provides good links.

If Williams or any of their young WRs struggle, he brings a nice amount of camp pressure for everyone to produce and stop being just potential. Tampa needed this in a big way. They have tons of talent at WR that need to get rolling.

i dont think so. a team that was weak at wr cut him in week 2. if he had any potential, they would have at least looked at him through week 4best case, his injury is still slowing him down which could mean ciny cut him because of his injury and not his talent. he finishes the year strong (jeremy kerly strong) and he becomes a sleeper candidate next year

at this point, i would not pick him up in my 16 team 24 man roster dyno league

Cincy made significant changes at WR this year with Caldwell and Simpson elsewhere too. Year before TO and Ocho. Let's not get into whether the Bengals manage personnel well.I only think he brings pressure to all these underperforming potential types Tampa has. I wouldn't have him in FF unless I read some good stuff this preseason. ACL? surgery...he's probably only up to pressuring not producing big yet.

 

[ShaHBucks]

He was overrated as far as size and speed goes, rookie year was based on TD's which we learned not to pay for. Last year he was exposed with no 100 yard games and a long run with no TD's. Adding V-Jax helps a lot because he's not a #1 WR. Another reason to tread softly is Freeman isn't as good as the media gives him credit for, his first year as a starter he was lucky defenders dropped picks. Hopefully you can get MW dirt cheap right now, he actually a good value right now going after 40+ WR's when hes probably a middle of the pack wr3 and a good wr4. He's just usable like a Crabtree/DHB/Holmes to me right now.

 

[VA703]

breakout year. vjax will draw the coverage leaving tampa mike open in the end-zone

youre welcome

 

[FavreCo]

breakout year. vjax will draw the coverage leaving tampa mike open in the end-zoneyoure welcome

That is what I was thinking but if Freeman can't pick up the O, Williams will be running wide open and Freeman will still be staring at V-Jax.

 

[moleculo]

 

[VaTerp]

Williams is a guy I never really bought into even after his impressive rookie year. And last season I didnt pay much attention to him as he's never been on my radar as a guy I liked.

Then in my draft last week I'm looking to shore up my weak WR corp and Williams is available in the 13th round. At that point, he really sticks out on name recognition alone.

I like everything I've seen based on reports of him having a good camp and Tampa has really invested in improving their offense with V-Jax, Nicks, and Martin. I'm not sold but I do think they will have to throw the ball a little more than people think to be competitive in that division and I think Williams should benefit.

 

[Mr. Soup Nazi]

Just through a trade offer on him for a 2nd round rookie pick next year....dude had him listed in his trade bait section.

 

[th3f00l]

At his current ADP he is way under where his rank is predicted. He is definitely a steal where he is going. I'm not overly optimistic about his performance and if Greg Little is available I may take hime there, even though I feel like Williams has a much higher floor.

 

[FF Ninja]

128 targets and 125 targets the last two years. 65 receptions each. Not sure how his numbers will improve with VJax seeing #1 targets. How many do you guys expect him to see? 90-100? There will probably only be 525ish targets to go around if they do emphasize the running game. Last year when they pretty much abandoned the running game (272 rushes) they only threw the ball 587 times.

He might outproduce his WR47 ADP, but he doesn't have much potential to crack a starting lineup. Moore (Meachem departure) at WR42 and Rice (health) at WR45 actually have 1000/8 upside. But with Williams being the WR2 on a mediocre at best passing team doesn't present much upside unless he can suddenly increase his catch % from 50% to 65%. Or if VJax gets hurt.

I'd rather address other positions at that point and maybe snag the other Steve Smith (WR67) or Andre Roberts (WR78). I think they'll have similar year end stats to Mike Williams at a cheaper cost.

 

[wingm@n]

Williams is quietly having a good season so far. He's a top 20 WR in my league this year (big play points). Targets are down but he's averaging over 20 yards/reception. Probably not sustainable but if he keeps this up he's on track to have a 1,000 yard, 10 TD season.

Anyone have a chance to watch him? Can he actually keep this up or is this a sell high situation?

 

[Otis]

1260, 8

 

[Run It Up]

Williams is quietly having a good season so far. He's a top 20 WR in my league this year (big play points). Targets are down but he's averaging over 20 yards/reception. Probably not sustainable but if he keeps this up he's on track to have a 1,000 yard, 10 TD season.Anyone have a chance to watch him? Can he actually keep this up or is this a sell high situation?

Hes an underrated talent imo, I think he could be a #1 on most teams in the NFL. His ADP was hilariously low this year.

 

[Nucker101]

1260, 8

They have a nice passing schedule over the next few weeks. Good things ahead for Freeman, V-Jax and Williams. I'm not high on Freeman or Williams, but they should finish with some decent numbers.

 

[Nucker101]

Williams is quietly having a good season so far. He's a top 20 WR in my league this year (big play points). Targets are down but he's averaging over 20 yards/reception. Probably not sustainable but if he keeps this up he's on track to have a 1,000 yard, 10 TD season.

Anyone have a chance to watch him? Can he actually keep this up or is this a sell high situation?

Hes an underrated talent imo, I think he could be a #1 on most teams in the NFL. His ADP was hilariously low this year.

I'd struggle with naming even 5 teams where I'd say that he's the #1 WR. He's a decent #2 talent-wise IMO.

 

[Run It Up]

Williams is quietly having a good season so far. He's a top 20 WR in my league this year (big play points). Targets are down but he's averaging over 20 yards/reception. Probably not sustainable but if he keeps this up he's on track to have a 1,000 yard, 10 TD season.

Anyone have a chance to watch him? Can he actually keep this up or is this a sell high situation?

Hes an underrated talent imo, I think he could be a #1 on most teams in the NFL. His ADP was hilariously low this year.

I'd struggle with naming even 5 teams where I'd say that he's the #1 WR. He's a decent #2 talent-wise IMO.

He came out his rookie year on a terrible buccs team and put up 65/965/11. He has the talent, just needs a team that can reciprocate.

 

[Nucker101]

Williams is quietly having a good season so far. He's a top 20 WR in my league this year (big play points). Targets are down but he's averaging over 20 yards/reception. Probably not sustainable but if he keeps this up he's on track to have a 1,000 yard, 10 TD season.

Anyone have a chance to watch him? Can he actually keep this up or is this a sell high situation?

Hes an underrated talent imo, I think he could be a #1 on most teams in the NFL. His ADP was hilariously low this year.

I'd struggle with naming even 5 teams where I'd say that he's the #1 WR. He's a decent #2 talent-wise IMO.

He came out his rookie year on a terrible buccs team and put up 65/965/11. He has the talent, just needs a team that can reciprocate.

One season with a high number of TD's isn't enough to make me believe that he's a #1 WR talent in the NFL. I highly doubt that he ever reaches double digits TD's again. Freeman isn't a great QB, but he's not horrible either. IMO Williams is at his best when he has a #1 WR to play with that can take pressure off of him like he has now.

 

[Run It Up]

Williams is quietly having a good season so far. He's a top 20 WR in my league this year (big play points). Targets are down but he's averaging over 20 yards/reception. Probably not sustainable but if he keeps this up he's on track to have a 1,000 yard, 10 TD season.

Anyone have a chance to watch him? Can he actually keep this up or is this a sell high situation?

Hes an underrated talent imo, I think he could be a #1 on most teams in the NFL. His ADP was hilariously low this year.

I'd struggle with naming even 5 teams where I'd say that he's the #1 WR. He's a decent #2 talent-wise IMO.

He came out his rookie year on a terrible buccs team and put up 65/965/11. He has the talent, just needs a team that can reciprocate.

One season with a high number of TD's isn't enough to make me believe that he's a #1 WR talent in the NFL. I highly doubt that he ever reaches double digits TD's again. Freeman isn't a great QB, but he's not horrible either. IMO Williams is at his best when he has a #1 WR to play with that can take pressure off of him like he has now.

Im not disputing that... its entirely possible. All I said was he has the talent to be a WR1 and has showed it. If im not mistaken it was the best rookie WR performance by anyone not named Randy Moss (and later AJ Green).On an even worse Buccs team in 2011 he still caught 65 balls. Sophmore slump, call it what you will, he is better imo than most people give him credit for.

 

[Mentos]

Williams is quietly having a good season so far. He's a top 20 WR in my league this year (big play points). Targets are down but he's averaging over 20 yards/reception. Probably not sustainable but if he keeps this up he's on track to have a 1,000 yard, 10 TD season.

Anyone have a chance to watch him? Can he actually keep this up or is this a sell high situation?

Hes an underrated talent imo, I think he could be a #1 on most teams in the NFL. His ADP was hilariously low this year.

I'd struggle with naming even 5 teams where I'd say that he's the #1 WR. He's a decent #2 talent-wise IMO.

He came out his rookie year on a terrible buccs team and put up 65/965/11. He has the talent, just needs a team that can reciprocate.

One season with a high number of TD's isn't enough to make me believe that he's a #1 WR talent in the NFL. I highly doubt that he ever reaches double digits TD's again. Freeman isn't a great QB, but he's not horrible either. IMO Williams is at his best when he has a #1 WR to play with that can take pressure off of him like he has now.

Im not disputing that... its entirely possible. All I said was he has the talent to be a WR1 and has showed it. If im not mistaken it was the best rookie WR performance by anyone not named Randy Moss (and later AJ Green).On an even worse Buccs team in 2011 he still caught 65 balls. Sophmore slump, call it what you will, he is better imo than most people give him credit for.

John Jefferson in 1978 had a great rookie season.

 

[Reepicheep]

I dumped him after week 3, he had 7 catches at that point, I figured the TDs were fool's gold. Obviously made a mistake after seeing his last two games, but even if I still owned him I'd be pretty scared to put a guy that still hasn't had more than 4 catches in a game in my lineup - his floor is frightfully low and I'm sure we'll see him hit it several more times this year. Seems clear he'll finish with decent numbers, especially considering his draft position, but if I had hung onto him I'd be trying to cash in right now.

 

[PhantomJB]

I dumped him after week 3, he had 7 catches at that point, I figured the TDs were fool's gold. Obviously made a mistake after seeing his last two games, but even if I still owned him I'd be pretty scared to put a guy that still hasn't had more than 4 catches in a game in my lineup - his floor is frightfully low and I'm sure we'll see him hit it several more times this year. Seems clear he'll finish with decent numbers, especially considering his draft position, but if I had hung onto him I'd be trying to cash in right now.

I was similarly hesitant to start him with so few catches. No takers on the trade front. But he and Freeman seem to be gaining a lot of trust and Schiano is opening up the passing game.Does last night's performance make anyone more comfortable he's a solid WR2 going forward?6 / 68 / 1 on at least 9-10 targets including 2-3 in the red zone

 

[wiscstlatlmia]

My vote for most improved player so far this year