Potential Suspensions for Tyreek Hill, Alvin Kamara, Jameson Williams
Every year a few players are facing a suspension to enter the season and fantasy owners need to know about it. In 2022, we had DeShaun Watson, DeAndre Hopkins, and Calvin Ridley all set to miss various amounts of time. This year we have a few more big names that have been suspended or could be waiting for the league to drop the hammer.
Looming Suspensions?
Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
News just broke on Tuesday that Hill is currently being investigated for an assault and battery charge of a Marina employee in Miami. As of now, that's pretty much all we know. This could disappear in a few days never to be heard about again or it could spiral into the next big NFL story. There is a real chance charges are dropped and this goes away. However, fantasy owners have to be prepared for the fact that there is also a chance that something unforeseen happens like footage surfacing of the incident and it's worse than anticipated. Anything can happen in a story like this.
Should fantasy owners adjust their rankings for Hill? No, not quite yet. Nevertheless, if you have him tied with another player this could weigh in on your decision. Hill has also dealt with other off-field concerns in the past, but skated by. It's unclear if that would become a factor here. If Hill was to face some sort of a suspension then Jaylen Waddle would get a boost as the team's clear-cut WR1 in his absence. Another wideout would also get a bump, but you would have to watch reports throughout camp to decide who to target. Based on what we've heard so far this summer, Braxton Berrios and Chosen Anderson look like the most likely wideouts to step up in his absence. Fantasy owners need to hope for the best, but always prepare for the worst in a scenario like this and let things play out. It's not time to panic yet though.
Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
A suspension for Kamara is looking more like a when than if. However, there is still a slight chance he skates by until 2024 before facing consequences with the league, which feels ridiculous, but could be a reality. Kamara was allegedly caught on film assaulting a man in a casino in February of 2022 which TMZ released footage of. In March he plead not guilty and his trial is set to begin on July 31. We don't know if the league is going to suspend Kamara prior to the start of the season or see how long this trial drags out and suspend him afterward. If we were to guess, we'd bet he is suspended prior to the start of this season. This situation is far more concerning than Hill's at this moment.
If Kamara does miss time, Jamaal Williams's value skyrockets, and all of a sudden rookie Kendre Miller will be a player whose name is coming up a ton in re-draft conversations. He is going to be the future of that Saints' backfield and the future may come a lot sooner than many had predicted. Make sure you keep his name in the back of your mind when picking in the later rounds. He could end up being a steal.
Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions
Williams' career has not gotten off to an ideal start after his rookie season was sidetracked by an injury suffered in his final college game and now a suspension to start year two. There is no if when it comes to this suspension. Williams violated the league's gambling policy and will miss the first five games of 2023. Fantasy owners now have to figure out how they want to approach this situation. Should you avoid this potentially troubled wide receiver altogether? He may not be worth the trouble. After all, he hasn't proven anything on an NFL field yet. Or is he a potential buy-low candidate who is worth drafting slightly ahead of ADP and stashing until mid-October?
We are going to tell you to stash him. This kid is a special talent and if not for his ACL injury he would have been the first wide receiver drafted in 2022. He's the closest thing we have seen to Tyreek Hill since Hill entered the league and Williams' upside is limitless. There is plenty of risk involved, but he is well worth it. While being suspended isn't ideal it's better than being injured. He could put together the type of season Odell Beckham did as a rookie when everyone let him slide in drafts because he was going to miss the first month of the season with a hamstring injury.
