Isaiah Williams' Fumble Fest Has the Jets Eyeing Jamaal Pritchett
Two fumbles in one quarter, zero returns since, and a 6.2 yards-per-return average. Williams' grip on the Jets' return job is slipping fast.
16 PPR points through three games with his return role evaporating.
- Two fumbles in Q1 vs. Green Bay in the rain
- 6.2 yards per return in 2026, down from 14.1 in 2025
- Zero punts returned in the 7 quarters since his fumbles
- Only NFL returner with multiple fumbles in 2026
- Jets signed Jamaal Pritchett off the practice squad last week
The Jets may have a problem on special teams, and his name is Isaiah Williams. The 25-year-old returner opened 2026 looking like the guy who ranked 6th among qualified punt returners last year (2025) at 14.1 yards per return. Three games in, he's 20th at a dismal 6.2 yards per return and holds the dubious distinction of being the only returner in the league with multiple fumbles.
It all unraveled in Week 2 against Green Bay. In a steady rain, Williams fumbled on his first return, managed two yards on his second, then fumbled again and tacked on an illegal fair catch signal penalty — all inside the first quarter. The Jets recovered both fumbles, so the scoreboard didn't punish them, but the tape clearly did a number on Williams' confidence.
The Numbers Are Ugly
Here's the part that should make Jets coaches uneasy. Over the first five quarters of the season, Williams fielded five of ten opponent punts — a 50% rate that lined up with his 2025 workload. Since the fumbles? Opponents have punted five times across seven quarters, and Williams hasn't touched a single one. That's a tiny sample, but it reads like a returner who's been told to sit tight, or who's gone gun-shy.
The year-over-year drop is stark across the board. Williams led the NFL with just two fair catches in 2026 after logging 13 in 2025. His return count has fallen from 5th in the league (28) to 12th (five). And his return share has collapsed from 48%-plus last season to 33% this year — and 0% since those back-to-back muffs.
Why Pritchett Signing Matters
The Jets quietly promoted Jamaal Pritchett off the practice squad last week. Maybe that's a coincidence. Maybe it's insurance. Either way, if Williams doesn't rediscover his hands and his nerve soon, Pritchett is the obvious candidate to see snaps in the return game. This is almost certainly on the Jets' radar even if it hasn't hit the depth chart yet.
For fantasy managers, none of this moves the needle in the right direction. Williams sits at #302 overall (#108 at WR) in our rankings with a grand total of 16 PPR points through three games (2026) — all of it offensive scraps, since return yardage doesn't score in standard formats anyway. He was never a roster-worthy asset, and his shrinking role only cements that. Drop him without a second thought, and don't bother chasing Pritchett until he actually wins the job.
