As we gear up to the start of the NFL season, Football Absurdity is going to bring you a comprehensive breakdown of every notable player that will be available in fantasy football drafts. Jack Doyle fell apart last season after posting two-straight years of top-ten production on a points-per-game basis. Is he a good bounce-back candidate for the 2020 fantasy football season?
Jack Doyle ADP and AAV:
Standard: TE20, 164 overall
PPR: TE18, 157 overall
Average Auction Value: $1
Jack Doyle Statistics:
| Year | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
| G | 16 | 6 | 15 |
| GS | 16 | 6 | 15 |
| Tgt | 72 | 33 | 108 |
| Rec | 43 | 26 | 80 |
| Yards | 448 | 245 | 690 |
| TD | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| Tgt/G | 4.5 | 5.5 | 7.2 |
| Rec/G | 2.69 | 4.33 | 5.33 |
| Rec% | 28 | 40.8 | 46 |
| Yds/Tgt | 6.22 | 7.42 | 6.39 |
| Yds/Rec | 6.222 | 7.424 | 6.389 |
| Year | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
| Std Pts | 68.8 | 34.5 | 89 |
| HPPR Pts | 105.3 | 58.5 | 165 |
| PPR Pts | 111.8 | 60.5 | 169 |
| Pts/G | 11.5 | 2.3 | 5.6 |
| HPPR Pts/G | 17.6 | 3.9 | 10.3 |
| PPR Pts/G | 18.6 | 4.0 | 10.6 |
| Pts/Tgt | 0.96 | 1.05 | 0.82 |
| Pts/Tgt (HPPR) | 1.46 | 1.77 | 1.53 |
| Pts/Tgt (HPPR) | 1.55 | 1.83 | 1.56 |
| Year | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
| Air Yards | 491 | 174 | 530 |
| aDOT | 6.8 | 5.3 | 4.9 |
| YAC | 216 | 108 | 337 |
| YAC/Tgt | 3.00 | 3.27 | 3.12 |
| YAC/Rec | 5.02 | 4.15 | 4.21 |
| YAC% | 48.2% | 44.1% | 48.8% |
| AYMS | 12% | 12% | 16% |
| Tgt MS | 14% | 16% | 24% |
Jack Doyle Overview:
The 2019 Indianapolis Colts didn’t go how anybody would have expected. It feels like a million years ago now, but Andrew Luck suddenly retired last August, sending the whole team into a tizzy and causing an unknown amount of turmoil. As such, I am fully ready to give any and all players on 2019 Colts a pass for their performances last season. That includes Jack Doyle’s dreadful campaign. 43 catches for 448 yards and four scores put him as #25 in points per game at tight end, behind guys like Joshua Perkins, Darren Fells, and Ryan Griffin.
What about Doyle’s 2018 and 2017? Well, he was TE9 by points per game in 2018 and was TE7 in 2017. 2018 was a mess for Doyle, with a hip strain and a kidney laceration costing him a total of 12 games (including the playoffs). Doyle played in all his games last year and should be able to return to his top-ten form in 2020. Whether or not he gets the opportunity to show that he’s still involved enough to return that price point that is a whole different story.
Jack Doyle Draft Strategy:
Jack Doyle Auction Value: $0
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet!
I am not drafting Jack Doyle. I might stream Jack Doyle, but I have no interest in adding him to my roster in the first… four weeks of the season? There’s too much there, too many mouths to feed, and too many questions in the Indianapolis passing game for me to put my chip down on Doyle to start the year. Since Doyle was last at full strength, the Colts have added Philip Rivers, Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman, and Parris Campbell with premium selections or cash. Sure, you can look at Rivers’ history with tight ends, but you would have a strong history with them if you spent your whole career throwing to Antonio Gates and Hunter Henry. The truth is that Rivers’ history sort of becomes irrelevant when you look at it through that lens.
And that’s the main problem with going after Jack Doyle at the draft, to me, is the question marks. There’s no strong foothold with Jack Doyle to invest in him outside of the deepest of leagues or drafts. If you’re wrong to start the year, you start behind the eightball. If you’re right you end up where with a backend TE1? His peak was TE7 on a points per game basis, and that isn’t the type of upside I’m taking a swing on, especially given that he sits in the “essentially free” tier with a ton of other guys. I don’t particularly care for Jonnu Smith this year, but he has more upside than Doyle. Same with T.J. Hockenson and heck, even Ian Thomas might be worth a look before Doyle.
Best Case Scenario:
Jack Doyle returns to his highest highs and is TE7.
Worst Case Scenario:
Jack Doyle burns you in the first three weeks of the season before you rage drop his 11 targets for 8 catches and 57 yards to pick up Darren Fells or something.
[Statistics are sourced from pro-football-reference.com and airyards.com]
