After the New York Jets acquired All-Pro WR Davante Adams on Tuesday many have speculated that the move spells the end of the offseason’s prized acquisition WR Mike Williams’ tenure in Green and White after just six games. But is moving on from the two-time 1,000-yard receiver really the right move?
The rumors started swirling on Wednesday
Williams missed practice on Wednesday this week due to personal reasons lending credence to the notion that he is now the odd man out in the Jets’ new-look receiving corps. The conventional wisdom is that he’d be a healthy scratch moving forward until the Jets can find a trade partner, as any injury now would likely kill his trade value.
With top-tier receiving options in Adams and Amari Cooper now off the board, Williams might be the highest-profile WR left on the trade block. According to the Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt, the New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Chargers, and the Jets’ Week 7 opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers, have all already contacted the Jets about Williams.
However, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich’s public comments have indicated that the Jets don’t immediately plan to move on from Williams who is expected to be part of the gameplan on Sunday night. Ulbrich indicated that having a deep and talented WR room is a good problem to have and that the team is in the process of figuring out how to utilize the diverse skill sets of all the receivers on the depth chart.
Analyzing Williams’ performance so far
While most would categorize Williams’ stat line of 10 catches for 145 yards and zero touchdowns as disappointing for a player brought in to be the WR2 in Gang Green’s revamped receiver corps, it isn’t entirely outrageous given the circumstances. The criticisms have gotten louder in the last two weeks as Williams failed to get on the same page as Rodgers, resulting in two defeat-sealing interceptions.
Williams missed almost all of the 2023 season with a torn ACL. He wasn’t activated from the physically unable to perform list until August 7th, missing a good portion of training camp and all other off-season workouts. He began the season on a snap count in order to ramp up which limited his early season opportunities. Going into the season, there was an expectation that he’d need some time to shake off the rust.
The biggest cause for criticism has been his miscommunications with Rodgers in crucial moments. According to Rodgers, Williams ran the wrong route on the play that resulted in the game-sealing interception for the Bills last week. While on face value, that criticism would make moving on from the veteran wideout a logical conclusion, it’s important to consider what is really expected of receivers when they play with Rodgers.
The future Hall of Fame QB is notorious for changing plays, modifying routes, and making other adjustments as he reads the defense pre-snap. As a result, he requires absolute trust and often communicates with his receivers through hand signals and his pre-snap cadence. That chemistry is what motivated the Jets to sign Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb last year, and what motivated the Davante Adams trade.
However, that connection takes time to build, and lack of live game action in the preseason, limited practices for Williams in training camp, and his early season pitch count have not given the former Los Angeles Charger the opportunity to build that chemistry with his new quarterback. There’s reason to believe that they could still develop the connection required to have a productive relationship as the season progresses.
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Mike Williams provides more value than a Day Three draft pick
The one-year $10 million contract Williams signed in the offseason makes him an easy-to-absorb rental for any team looking to acquire him as a rental ahead of the November 5th trade deadline. However, by nature of being a roughly half-season rental, it limits the compensation the Jets can expect in return for the veteran receiver.
With Adams and Cooper setting the market for WR1’s at a third-round pick, a player like Williams who has always been the Robin to someone else’s Batman would fetch even less. At this point, it’s worthwhile to consider if his presence on the roster is more valuable to the team in an all-in year. The team already shockingly fired their head coach just five games into the season in order to prevent their Super Bowl aspirations from spiraling out of reach, so why not keep a receiver with a proven track record of production?
A big reason that Williams is considered expendable is the resurgence of former Green Bay Packer Allen Lazard. Lazard’s 26 catches are already more than last season’s total of 23, and he’s also eclipsed last year’s yardage total, 354 to 311. He’s also currently tied for the league lead in receiving touchdowns with five and has been on the receiving end of Rodgers’ best plays like last week’s spectacular Hail Mary to end the first half.
While Lazard has the connection and trust with Rodgers that Williams has failed to earn thus far, it’s worth noting that there are still some warts to his game. Lazard led the NFL in drop rate in 2023 with a mark of 17.9%, and has posted an even higher drop percentage of 18.8% this season. Williams on the other hand has been one of the most sure-handed receivers in the league over his career, posting a drop rate of just 6.5%.
Williams also excels in key nuances of playing the wide receiver position. While not possessing blazing speed, he is excellent at using his athleticism combined with his 6-4 frame to box out corners on deep balls, and once led the league in yards per reception in 2019 when he averaged 20.4 yards per catch. Contested catches are another area of excellence for the Clemson product, who owns a career contested catch rate of 54.7%.
Those skills are unique on the Jets roster. Star wide receivers Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson excel in many facets, but neither one of them possesses the size to be elite contested catch players and both do most of their damage in the intermediate area of the field where their yards after catch prowess shines. Lazard, at 6-5, is the only receiver with comparable size to Williams, however as stated, he’s prone to concentration drops.
Lastly, depth matters. The NFL is a game of attrition and the depth chart today could look very different than the depth chart by season’s end. Williams could eventually usurp Lazard as the team’s number three receiver, at which point, an injury to either Wilson or Adams would see him slide into the WR2 role that he’s excelled at throughout his career.
It was always a given that Williams would need some time to round into form and build chemistry with his new QB. Six weeks hasn’t been enough time to definitively state that injuries and age have sapped the ability that once made him one of the league’s most dynamic X receivers. As such, his potential return to form is worth much more to a team with Super Bowl aspirations than a late-round draft pick would be. And for that reason, the Jets would be foolish to pull the plug on the Mike Williams experiment.
