The Jaguars are a got dang mess, and I wouldn’t recommend drafting anyone with a JAC next to their name except Leonard Fournette this fantasy football season. So I’m stashing the worst for last, except when you search this it will show up first because it’s last chronologically. What I’m saying is this is a long, over-thought wind up to a terrible result. Like a Blake Bortles pass attempt.
Sleeper – Marqise Lee, Wide Receiver
A post-hype sleeper, Lee quietly had a productive year in his third season. He hauled in 105 targets and turned those into 851 yards. The reason many aren’t hyping him again is that he scored just three touchdowns last year. Since 2010, wide receivers to get within 5% of Hurns’ 850 yards pulled in, on average, over five touchdowns. Give Hurns six and he has potential to be a back-end WR3. While volume is a concern in this offense with the addition of Leonard Fournette, Lee should surpass Hurns as the better receiver and should see increased volume. He’s free right now and is more a name to remember than a name to go out and draft except in deep leagues. He’s low-risk and should develop into a starting staple for your roster.
Bounce Back – Allen Robinson, Wide Receiver
Robinson suffered greatly last season from the injuries to Allen Hurns. In the games that Hurns played, Robinson was not the receiver we saw in 2015, but he still averaged a very respectable 13.46 PPR points per game, on an 860 yard, nine touchdown pace. In the five games without Hurns, the offense was not as potent, and Robinson had the same yards and targets volume but failed to score a touchdown in his opportunities. Blake Bortles struggled, as well, averaging nearly six fewer fantasy points per game with Hurns running out wide. This season whether it be Hurns or Marqise Lee, a viable receiver opposite Robinson will open up more of the game for him, and allow him to return a higher value than the WR17 where he is currently being drafted.
Bust – Jaguars D/ST
The Jaguars have the #12 drafted defense & special teams unit in 2017, and they’re the only draft day D/ST ranking silly enough to be worth discussing. This will be the third-straight season of hype pieces for the Jaguars defense, mostly built on “taking the next step forward,” for many players. A significant step forward will need to happen for the Jaguars to do better than the #24 D/ST last year, namely not be twentieth in sacks, #24 in recovered fumbles and dead last in interceptions. They also need to take a step forward from not allowing 25 points per game. There’s too much for the Jaguars DS/T to improve upon for the third straight year for them to justify being a starting D/ST for your squad.
