Rizzla discusses Tyrell Williams signing with the Oakland Raiders, and takes a look at the fantasy context.
The Oakland Raiders have overhauled their passing attack in a matter of days. With Antonio Brown now in town the Oakland Raiders looked to free agency to find a number two receiver and landed on Tyrell Williams. According to NFL.com Tyrell Williams signed a four year, $44 million dollar deal with $22 million in guarantees.
This is a shrewd move by Mike Mayock, and the Oakland Raiders. Tyrell Williams was arguably the best receiver available in free agency, and they managed to land him for what looks like two years of guarantees. Williams is the type of big bodied field stretcher every NFL teams covet, and the Raiders did well to address their depth prior to the draft.
Fantasy Context:
Tyrell Williams lands in a good spot, and looks to be locked in as a starter in two wide sets. If Jordy Nelson remains in town, Williams may remain a weekly boom or bust option in Oakland. It is hard to argue that he is not experiencing a quarterback downgrade, and may face competition in the form of a draft pick or two from a deep wide receiver class. Consider Williams an upside flex2 option, or WR4 with matchup dependent WR2 upside. For dynasty league owners, consider this your sell high window.
Antonio Brown does not really see his fantasy stock raised with this move, but Williams’ impact should be felt on the field, and in his efficiency numbers. If Williams can get established he could even roll some coverages which would really help AB. AB remains a second tier WR1.
Derek Carr sees his fantasy value further resuscitated with this move. While there are rumblings about the Raiders interest in Kyler Murray, he will likely only be in play for them if the Cardinals opt to pass on him. As of now Carr is the Raiders starter going forward. Carr is still more of a QB2, but now looks like a matchup dependent QB1 streaming option. Carr should sprinkle in some top twelve weeks and should finish as a top-20 fantasy QB.
