Should you draft Los Angeles Chargers WR Mike Williams early in your fantasy football league?

There is a bit of talk about Mike Williams, the 1st Round draft pick of the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017, being a solid fantasy football weapon heading into his rookie season.

While I am a big fan of the WR out of Clemson, even when factoring in the nervousness brought upon when talking about his history of neck and back injuries, I don’t know that I would use an early pick on him in my own fantasy league....

First of all, you have to consider the sheer number of options Philip Rivers has to throw to in the Chargers’ offense.

Keenan Allen, Antonio Gates, and Hunter Henry are likely to be Rivers’ top 3 options in red zone, where Williams needs to be targeted to be a top fantasy prospect. Add in Melvin Gordon, who accounted for 12 TDs last year and is probably looking for more this season.

Oh, and I didn’t even mention Tyrell Williams, who scored 7 TDs in his own right as Philip Rivers’ favorite downfield target, or Travis Benjamin, who is paid to be Rivers’ main downfield target.

Rivers, in the past, has shown a penchant for feeding the guys that he has a rapport with more than the guys that make the most money or are picked the highest (this is one reason Travis Benjamin wasn’t a huge factor in 2016). Even Keenan Allen had to work hard in his rookie season to eventually get the QB to throw him the ball instead of Eddie Royal and Vincent Brown.

I think (Mike) Williams will eventually take the place of (Tyrell) Williams and/or Travis Benjamin in the offense, and he’ll have a better second half to the season than first half (like Allen did), but I think overall you can find better options in the early rounds of your fantasy draft and can probably add the rookie via waivers or a trade halfway through the year.