Week 8 vs. New York Giants
Patrick Mahomes was the Chiefs leading rusher last week in both attempts (6) and yards (35) which tells you Darrel Williams did not have a good game. He ran the ball just five times for 20 yards while going 3-30 on four targets. It's the third game in a row Williams has seen at least four targets, catching three passes per game in that stretch. He has more receptions in his last three games (9) than Clyde Edwards-Helaire had in his five starts (8), which adds a bonus in PPR formats considering how little Williams ran the ball last week. We'd expect him to have more than five carries in Week 8 as he faces the Giants who are 26th in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to running backs. The Giants have allowed the fourth-most rushing yards to running backs this season, so Williams should have a solid game as an RB2 play this week.
Week 7 at Tennessee Titans
Darrel Williams ended up being a strong waiver wire pickup as he filled in nicely for CEH. Williams ran the ball 21 times for 62 yards and two touchdowns while also seeing four targets, finishing 3-27 as a receiver. The Chiefs have gotten Williams involved as a receiver as he's seen nine targets the last two weeks, which is interesting when you consider CEH saw just 10 targets from Weeks 1-5. Even without the targets, though, Williams saw plenty of volume with 21 carries and 72% offensive-snap share. He doesn't get a great matchup against the Titans this week (12th in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed), but his volume in this high-powered offense is enough to make him a low-end RB1 play.
Week 6 at Washington Football Team
Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been placed on injured reserve, so Darrel Williams will take over as the lead back. He played most of last week after CEH's injury, seeing 43% of the offensive snaps. But Jerick McKinnon also had a sizeable role, playing on 31% of the offensive snaps. We still expect Williams to see the bulk of the work, but McKinnon will make a dent in playing time. Last week, Williams had five carries for 27 yards and saw five targets, catching three passes for 18 yards. Williams should be involved both on the ground and as a receiver this week in a favorable matchup against Washington, who is 16th in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to running backs. Williams should be a solid RB2 play in Week 6.
Week 5 vs. Buffalo Bills
Darrel Williams was highly involved last week for the Chiefs, finishing 10-42-1 on the ground and 2-16 as a receiver. He had just four fewer touches than Clyde Edwards-Helaire and only played 11 fewer snaps. Williams' increased role doesn't necessarily mean he's worth anything in fantasy, though. His increased role just limits CEH's ceiling. Williams will be a good handcuff if CEH gets injured, but he's not worth fantasy consideration at this moment.
Week 3 vs. Los Angeles Chargers
There's not a whole lot of touches to go around in the Chiefs' backfield outside of Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Darrel Williams had one of the stranger stat lines you're going to see as he had three total carries for negative two yards and a touchdown in Week 2. Williams also had zero targets while Michael Burton and Jerick McKinnon saw one each. Williams scoring a TD was a fluke, and he can be ignored for fantasy purposes.
Week 2 @ Baltimore Ravens
Darrel Williams played on just 22% of the offensive snaps for the Chiefs in Week 2 while Jerick McKinnon played just four snaps total. It appears Williams has the backup job over McKinnon, but that doesn't mean much when he only finished with one offensive touch. Williams is off the fantasy radar until he gets more usage.
Week 1 vs. Cleveland Browns
Darrel Williams and Jerick McKinnon will back up Clyde Edwards-Helaire this season after Le'Veon Bell's departure. It'll be interesting to see how these touches are divided after Week 1, but both would be a poor play heading into Week 1. Even if we had more defined roles for both backups, we'd still expect CEH to get the bulk of the touches in this Kansas City backfield.
Week 17 vs. Los Angeles Chargers
The Chiefs are benching Patrick Mahomes, but it's not completely clear what they plan to do with the rest of the offense. Clyde Edwards-Helaire is still nursing an ankle injury, so he won't be playing. Le'Veon Bell is dealing with a knee injury. That leaves Darrel Williams, who played on 70% of the Chiefs' snaps last week. It seems possible the Chiefs could even hold Williams back considering how much he's played in CEH's absence, leaving Darwin Thompson as the other back. Simply put, this backfield is tough to predict for Week 17, leaving Williams as a risky flex option/RB3 at best.
Week 16 vs. Atlanta Falcons
Clyde Edwards-Helaire is out this week, which gives Darrel Williams some relevance. The last time CEH played zero snaps (Week 13), Williams played a healthy 48% of the offensive snaps. However, he had just seven touches for 43 yards in that game. Expect a similar type of performance this week from Williams. He'd be a pretty weak play in Week 16 considering the tough matchup against the Falcons, and the fact Le'Veon Bell is ahead of him on the depth chart.
Week 6 at Buffalo Bills
Darrel Williams saw a bigger workload last week, playing on 40% of the offensive snaps. He also saw five targets and ran 22 pass routes. It's an interesting shift in the Chiefs' offensive strategy, but it didn't work out too well for Williams who had two total touches for 19 yards. As for now, Williams isn't much more than a handcuff for CEH.
