Joe Williams Fantasy Stats

The San Francisco 49ers are waiving running back Joe Williams on Friday, according to a source. Head coach Kyle Shanahan was a big proponent of Williams and convinced the team's brass to take him in the fourth round last season. Williams just hasn't panned out, mostly because of injuries. Jerick McKinnon and Matt Breida will be the top two running backs entering Week 1, with Alfred Morris likely holding down the No. 3 job.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is starting to regret asking general manager John Lynch to select running back Joe Williams in last year's draft despite concerns about his commitment to the sport. Williams didn't play in a regular season game in his rookie season, and Shanahan said in the offseason that Williams needed more "urgency" heading into 2018. Shanahan admitted that he might've made a mistake on evaluating Williams. His NFL career might be over quickly if he doesn't make adjustments. There is still potential -- he ran the second fastest 40-yard dash (4.41 seconds) at the combine last year and averaged 190.2 yards per game and 7.1 yards per carry in his last seven games in college -- but time is running out. He's competing to be the No. 3 back behind Jerick McKinnon and Matt Breida, so unless an injury opens up more playing time, Williams can be ignored for now.

San Francisco 49ers running back Joe Williams "looks like a completely different player," according to 49ers beat writer Matt Maiocco. Williams will have to continue to impress the coaching staff to secure a spot on the 53-man roster. Matt Breida is the heavy favorite to back up Jerick McKinnon, so Williams' main competition appears to be Raheem Mostert for the third-string running back spot. Williams is not worth drafting in any format at this point in time, but he is someone to monitor on the waiver wire in case McKinnon or Breida miss any action during the regular season.

San Francisco 49ers running back Joe Williams, who missed his rookie season with a foot injury, is competing for a roster spot this summer and has impressed head coach Kyle Shanahan. Joes come a long way. I think his body looks a lot better than it did last year. He put on a lot of muscle mass and he took advantage of the year of not playing," Shanahan said. Even if Williams has improved, he's sitting behind Jerick McKinnon, Matt Breida and Raheem Mostert on the depth chart and is unlikely to see much playing time, barring an injury ahead of him.

San Francisco 49ers running back Joe Williams is facing an uphill battle for a roster spot this summer and will have to prove himself in order to make the team. General manager John Lynch had questions about Williams' commitment to football in last year's draft, but head coach Kyle Shanahan and running backs coach Bobby Turner convinced Lynch to put him back on the draft board. Williams didn't impress in his rookie season and landed on Injured Reserve with a minor foot injury. The Niners signed Jerick McKinnon to handle the load this offseason, and Matt Breida should be involved as his backup, leaving little for Williams if he even makes the squad.

San Francisco 49ers rookie running back Joe Williams is eager for the offseason to begin, according to Nick Wagoner on Twitter. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan believed that Williams would have been ready to be back in the lineup if they had not made the decision to add him to Injured Reserve earlier this season. Williams should compete for snaps next season with Carlos Hyde's future up in the air.

The San Francisco 49ers fourth-round draft pick, Joe Williams, was placed on Injured Reserve on Saturday, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com. Williams was behind fellow rookie Matt Breida on the depth chart as training camp ended and had played some even into Week 4 of the preseason. Williams can be safely held in all dynasty formats, but can be dropped in any and all redraft leagues. Breida becomes the primary handcuff for Carlos Hyde owners.

San Francisco 49ers rookie running back Joe Williams has been struggling recently with fumbling issues and was called out by head coach Kyle Shanahan. "If you can't hold onto the ball it's very tough to play in this league. He's had a few of them. So that definitely is alarming. Something we have to get fixed," said Shanahan of Williams, who has fallen behind fellow rookie Matt Breida on the 49ers depth chart. Williams is not worth a pick in any redraft league as of right now and is only worth a late-round flier in the deepest of dynasty leagues.

San Francisco 49ers rookie running back Joe Williams was not the second in line behind Carlos Hyde during their preseason opener, but he performed well late, averaging 8.6 yards per carry on seven carries. According to Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee, Williams "showed the burst -- especially on a couple of outside runs -- that convinced the 49ers he was worth taking in the fourth round of the draft." Expect Williams to battle with fellow rookie Matt Breida for backup duties this season. He should only be looked at in deeper dynasty leagues at this point.