Christian Kirk Week 12 Outlook - Browns at Jaguars

By Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros), Wed, Nov 25th 2020, 7:24pm EST

It seems we've come back down to earth with Kirk, as he's finished with just eight catches for 77 yards in the last two weeks combined. There was a three-game stretch in there that made it mighty difficult to bench him, but he's no longer someone you must start, especially when you consider Murray's shoulder injury that could negatively impact his passing. The matchup against the Patriots is not a bad one, as evidenced by the league-leading 9.65 yards per target to wide receivers they've allowed. Kirk also leads the Cardinals starting wide receivers in average depth of target, so it helps to know the Patriots have allowed 14.52 yards per reception, which is second to only the Falcons. While Hopkins is sure to see Stephon Gilmore, that leaves Kirk with Jason McCourty. Of the 88 cornerbacks who've played at least 175 snaps in coverage, McCourty has allowed the second-most PPR points per target (2.48) in his coverage. The risk with Kirk comes back to Kyler Murray and his shoulder injury, as he needs to be able to get the ball downfield. Despite the Patriots being as bad as they are from an efficiency standpoint, they've allowed just 16 wide receivers to finish as top-48 options (12 of whom were top-36). That's not great when we view Hopkins as the No. 1 receiver for them. Kirk is in the WR4 conversation in a plus-matchup but there is concern, meaning he's not a must-start.