Summer Sleeper: Houston Texans

Bruce Matson Posted On August 7, 2016

Previously touted as one of the top wide receiver prospects in dynasty, DeAndre Hopkins blew the doors off the NFL last season, catching 111 receptions for 1,521 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging 21.07 fantasy points per game in PPR leagues. Now he’s considered one of the top wide receivers in the league.

The Texans bolstered their wide receiver corps by drafting Will Fuller in the first round (21 overall) and Braxton Miller in the third round (85 overall). They also drafted Tyler Ervin in the fourth round (119 overall), a small explosive running back who is very talented at catching the ball out of the backfield. The main motive of all these moves is to make the transition for recently signed quarterback Brock Osweiler as smooth as possible. The Texans want to surround Osweiler with as many talented weapons as possible.

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The Texans’ offense is experiencing an overhaul and will look completely different going into next year due to the additions of Brock Osweiler, Lamar Miller, and a plethora of young talented receivers. It’s going to be fun to watch the Texans’ offense develop during the next couple years and they are a candidate to be one of the surprise teams this year.

Wendall Williams, WR Houston Texans

Category: Super Deep Sleeper

Williams went to school at the University of Cumberlands which is a small NAIA school in Williamsburg, Kentucky. The school has an enrollment of about 2,655 students which is comparable in size to a division three level school. He became a household name when he blew up the regional combine with a hand timed 4.19 40-yard dash which was also timed by laser at 4.32 seconds. He also posted a 45-inch vertical jump which would have tied Georgia’s Chris Conley and Ohio State’s Donald Washington’s record at the combine.

wendall_chart

At 5-foot-11’ and 185 pounds, Williams fits the mold of a slot receiver but his speed and his short area quickness could allow him to line up on the outside as a split end. As you can tell from the chart above, his athletic metrics resembles Colts’ wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and Texans’ first-round pick Will Fuller. It’s great that he compares athletically to Fuller but unfortunately they are both teammates, making it harder for Williams to carve out a role within the offense.

wendall_stats

From the outside looking in, Williams’ appears to have sub-par college production, providing the inference that he wasn’t dominate at the collegiate level. The University of Cumberlands Patriots were primarily a run based offense that averaged almost five rushing attempts for every pass attempt while only compiling just 1,157 yards through the air. Willliams accounted for 39.5 percent market share of the team’s passing offense and 40 percent of the team’s passing touchdowns. Even though the offense provided a limited amount of volume within the passing game, Williams still maximized his opportunities by becoming an integral part of the offense. The level of competition that he played against is the biggest concern, considering that he only played innocuous small schools around the state of Kentucky. It’s highly unlikely that he played against anyone who was remotely close to being NFL caliber competition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE7lBX2QJVw

The highlight video gives a good depiction of how Williams’ athleticism translates on the field. The film is reminiscent of the highlight videos for five-star high school recruits, a blue-chip prospect just running over, through and around the competition at will. If anything, the tape provides proof that the competition that he played against was far from NCAA Division I caliber and is something to make note of while evaluating him. The video suggests that his route tree is limited to mostly nine-routes, which means he has a lot of ground to make up in his development. The offense utilized his speed on a lot of end-around plays to beat the defense. Another main takeaway from this video is that he’s a natural kick returner with excellent vision to along with his gazelle-like speed.

The depth chart is far from wide open for Williams. The Texans spent heavy capital in the draft to acquire both Will Fuller and Braxton Miller which means the coaching staff is going to give them every opportunity to succeed. The team also invested a third-round pick in last year’s draft on Jaelen Strong who has the potential to make a run for a starting position. Cecil Shorts is a crafty veteran who could crack the starting lineup if he can revert to his old form and manage to stay healthy. Of course, DeAndre Hopkins is going to command most of the targets, making it hard for any of these receivers to get enough opportunity to become a consistent fantasy starter. Williams has to make his mark returning kicks and punts on special teams because there’s a lot of quality talent in front of him and being able to contribute on special teams might be enough for him to make the team.

He’s a player that needs monitored closely during training camp because if he’s impressing the coaching staff during training camp and creating a lot of positive buzz in the media then it might be a good idea to pick him up off of waivers just in case he carves out a role within the offense. It’s going to be an uphill battle for him to make the team, but he should still be etched on your watch list because the upside is through the roof due to his athleticism and his ability to out run defenders. Not making the roster might be advantageous for his stock in fantasy because it will give him the opportunity to compete for a roster spot on a team that’s not log jammed with talent at wide receiver. My advice, don’t make any irrational moves, just strike with a waiver wire claim if it looks like he’s going to get a crack at the starting lineup.

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Bruce Matson

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

I'm a financial counselor for a hospital in South Central Ohio. I graduated from Muskingum University with a bachelor's in business while minoring in Economics and Accounting. I won my first fantasy football title with Jake Plummer as my quarterback.