We’re on to the worst team in the NFL. That’s no exaggeration, the Jacksonville Jaguars have the #1 pick (and presumably, a new QB next season). We will mostly cast this season into the dustbin of history, but what little dust bunnies will fly back out to settle on the hardwood floor of our collective consciousness? Okay, uh… that one got away from me. What blood can we squeeze out of the stone that was the 2020 Jacksonville Jaguars for fantasy football 2021?
What to Remember from the 2020 Jacksonville Jaguars Season
- The Jacksonville Jaguars anointed James Robinson, and cut Leonard Fournette to prove it. We didn’t want to think it was true, and said things like “Chris Thompson is going to steal targets, and maybe carries!” Chris Thompson was on-and-off the inactive report and ultimately played just 159 snaps all season. This isn’t about Chris Thompson, however, this is about the Jaguars committing to James Robinson. Robinson received literally all the running back carries in eight of his fifteen games played this season. If you fear the Jaguars passing more, don’t worry. They ran the ball the fewest times in the league in 2020, they just put it nearly exclusively in James Robinson’s belly when they do. And cut the fearmongering nonsense that a new administration’s top priority will be replacing a cheap star running back. C’mon.
- James Robinson’s fellow rookie, Laviska Shenault, started the year off pretty hot. His multidimensionality was on full display, and after two weeks, he was on pace for 376 rushing yards. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but Deebo Samuel led all WRs in 2019 with 159 rushing yards. Shenault ultimately ended up ranking fourth in WR rushing yards, behind Curtis Samuel, Robert Woods, and Tyreek Hill. Shenault’s robust skillset and a hot start had him pacing out to over 1,000 yards over the first five weeks of the season, but ultimately, injuries derailed his season. Of note: he tied with star Jaguars WR DJ Chark with 7.6 yards per target.
- Speaking of DJ Chark, he had an up-and-down season. Chark ended the year regressing from his 2019 breakout, 1,000-yard campaign. Luckily, Trevor Lawrence (probably) joining the team means only good things for Chark. DJ Chark struggled mightily with Gardner Minshew, the outgoing QB, under center. In games with Gardner Minshew this season, Chark averaged 4 catches for 45 yards on 7 targets per game. Outside of the Minshew games, he averaged just 4.2 catches… for 69.2 yards per game. Minshew and Chark were not a match made in heaven, something that continues from 2019 when Chark averaged more yards per game without Minshew than with him.
- Let’s have a post-mortem on the Gardner Minshew Era. Ultimately, he was more fun than useful quarterback for most of his time in Jacksonville. That doesn’t mean that he wasn’t useful from a fantasy football perspective. He ended the year as the QB14 in points per game, ahead of Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees, and Joe Burrow. Prior to his week seven benching, Minshew was on a tear, too. He averaged 282 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0.7 interceptions per game. Should Trevor Lawrence pull an Andrew Luck, or, more likely, Minshew end up somewhere else next season, remember that he was pretty good for fantasy football this season. Out of his nine games, he was a top-twelve quarterback five times.
- The target volume wasn’t there for Collin Johnson for most of the season, He ended up with at least four targets in three games last season as he made his way in-and-out of the lineup. In those three games, he went for a touchdown in two and went for at least 66 yards in the other two. It’s likely he gets buried next season behind DJ Chark and Laviska Shenault. But should one or both of them get injured next year, fifth-round pick Collin Johnson has the size (6’6”!) and flashed the skills to be a hot fantasy football commodity. He’s not a guy to put on the tip of your tongue, but rather a flashcard in your deck to remember going into 2021.
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