Detroit Lions trade WR Roy Williams to Dallas Cowboys

October 20, 2008 @ 00:00:00

By Bryce McRae
Edited by KFFL Staff

Adam Schefter, of NFL.com, reports the Dallas Cowboys have acquired wide Roy Williams from the Detroit Lions for their first-, third- and sixth-round draft choices in 2009. The Cowboys also received Detroit's 2009 seventh-round choice; Williams is slated to be a free agent next season, but the Cowboys have not yet signed him to an extension.

Williams has suffered through a disappointing season. His best game came in Week 5, when he caught seven passes for 96 yards. However, he was targeted a season-high 19 times that week. Williams is averaging just 5.8 targets per game excluding his Week 5 effort. Through the first five games this year, he has caught 17 passes for 232 yards and a lone touchdown.

For his career, Williams has only surpassed 1,000 yards once in a season; he caught 82 passes for 1,310 yards and seven touchdowns in 2006. He posted decent totals of 64 receptions, 838 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 2007, which was impressive considering he missed four games. However, he has suffered through a few injury-plagued seasons, most recently last year when he missed four games. He has played just one 16-game campaign in his five-year career.

Williams' value should increase by joining the Cowboys. Wide receiver Terrell Owens will be starting opposite him, and teams likely aren't going to stop double-teaming Owens. He will also be making the jump from quarterback Dan Orlovsky in Detroit to Brad Johnson in Dallas - and Tony Romo (finger) when he returns from a broken pinkie finger. Dallas also has an established run game, which is something the Lions have not had this year.

One negative for owners of Williams: He will see a second bye week this year (Dallas sits out in Week 10) having already been off during Week 4.

Owens' value should come down slightly as the team will have to look Williams' way more often than they were seeking either Patrick Crayton or Miles Austin.

If you own tight end Jason Witten, you likely could expect a slight drop as Williams should garner some of his targets. Romo's return should normalize that trend, though, as he favors Witten in the passing game.

Crayton and Austin should be discarded in all but the deepest of leagues; with three targets above them in the pecking order and a running game that needs to be utilized, they likely won't see as much action as they have in recent weeks. Running back Marion Barber III is also averaging 4.50 receptions per game over the last four weeks.

Owners in very deep leagues should note wide receiver Sam Hurd (ankle) will miss about six weeks after aggravating a high ankle sprain in Week 6. He should not be owned in any league.

In Detroit, wideout Calvin Johnson will likely face more double teams and should take a minimal hit in value. Receivers Shaun McDonald and Mike Furrey should see a slight increase, but they should only be considered in deep point-per-reception formats.

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Bryce McRae
Bryce McRae is a Managing Editor with KFFL and has been involved in fantasy sports since 1999. He joined KFFL as a volunteer writer in March 2005 before becoming a Hot off the Wire Analyst in March 2006. He began working in his current capacity in September 2008. His work has appeared on fantasy sports sites such as Yahoo! and CBS Sportsline as well as in print. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2008 with a B.A. in History and U.S. Studies.

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