Tim Patrick draws unflattering fantasy football label as he has earned big role

Patrick has earned more prominent role in the Lions' offense, and Kalif Raymond going down with a foot injury in Week 12 has pushed that door open a little more. But someone's uptick often ends up coming at the expense of someone else.

Jameson Williams has had a breakthrough season (710 yards, four touchdowns, 18.2 yards per catch), and it'd be even better if he hadn't missed two games due to a performance-enhancing substance suspension. Since a high-target volume start (20 targets over the first two games), his production has been up and down though.

Tim Patrick given a not so-nice fantasy football label in relation to Jameson Williams

Over the last two games, Patrick and Williams have had pretty close in snap count and routes run. In Week 14, it was about as close as it can get-Williams played two more snaps (55 to 53) and ran five more routes than Patrick (according to Pro Football Focus).

The Lions' game in Week 15 against the Buffalo Bills feels like "start all your (insert either team's name)" kind of game. Patrick could even be a viable option as a WR3 or flex in deeper leagues, and it feels like an no-brainer to start Williams.

Among his "10 Things You Need To Know About Week 15 For Fantasy Football", Stephen Hoopes of 4for4 Fantasy Football has Patrick as a "nuisance" for Williams.

"With Kalif Raymond landing on injured reserve, Tim Patrick has stepped in for the Lions. And he’s been a thorn in the side of Jameson Williams. Over the past two weeks, Patrick ran only six fewer routes than Williams. And he’s even eating into 2-WR sets. Williams has 15 snaps in heavier packages over the past two weeks, but Patrick has seven of his own. With Raymond going down, I was hopeful that we could consolidate targets to only Amon-Ra St. Brown, Williams, LaPorta, Gibbs, and Montgomery. Which, to be honest, isn’t that consolidated. But Patrick has been earning enough targets to keep down the relative volume for everyone."

PFF data backs up Patrick seeing more action in two-receiver sets the last couple games, narrowing the gap between he and Williams there.

Patrick's emergence might be a "thorn in the side" of Williams-and his fantasy managers. But anyone who took Williams in a draft knew (or should have known) what they were getting, with week-to-week consistency a potential thing. A broad target tree for the Lions and it's impact on fantasy is not some great revelation now that we're in Week 15, even if there's an attempt to paint that way in light of Patrick becoming a bigger factor.