Fantasy Football Player Notes

Last week, Payton leaned on Williams as a workhorse back as he played 66% of the snaps with 16 touches and 65 total yards (48 of which came in the passing game). Williams' tackle-breaking hasn't improved this year after further ACL recovery. Among 40 qualifying backs, he hasn't registered an explosive run while ranking 31st in yards after contact per attempt. It hasn't been easy for Williams operating in an offense without the threat of a passing game and behind an offensive line that has the sixth-lowest yards before contact per attempt. Tampa Bay's run defense will be tested this week just to see how truly bad they are. The Bucs' run defense hasn't been great in the early going, which gives Williams some faint hope for Week 3. The Buccaneers have allowed the third-highest explosive run rate and the eighth-highest missed tackle rate while having the third-lowest stuff rate.

Payton is floundering, looking for answers to his putrid offense. One of the moves he made last week was to lean on Williams more and malign McLaughlin. McLaughlin saw his snap rate drop to 28%, and he only had three touches, which he produced six yards with. McLaughlin is a hold if possible, but if you need the bench space, he is droppable. It's tough for a player that, on a per-touch basis, has been better than Williams, but the offense is on life support, and the offensive-minded head coach doesn't seem to have any answers to reverse the course.