Fantasy Football Player Notes

There were flashes of what could be an alpha wide receiver in Chark last year, but there were also times where he disappeared. For example, he had six games of 15-plus fantasy points, but he also had eight games with less than nine fantasy points. Is it reasonable for him to grow as a player? Yes. Is there now a bit more competition for targets on the roster? Yes. With the shortened offseason, it will be difficult to learn a new playbook, especially for rookies like second-round pick Laviska Shenault. Because of that, Gardner Minshew will likely be looking Chark's way a lot. With a schedule that starts with the Colts, Titans, Dolphins, Bengals, Texans, and Lions, Chark should have a monster first half of the fantasy season. There are much tougher matchups as the season goes on, however, but drafting Chark as a low-end WR2 with upside in the fifth round makes sense. But again, you may want to look at the possibility of trading him during his bye in Week 7.

It was quite miraculous what Minshew accomplished in 2020, especially when you factor in the lack of draft capital (sixth-round pick) they used to acquire him. Don't understand just how good he was? Put his numbers up next to Kyler Murray's. Minshew averaged more yards and passing touchdowns, while having fewer interceptions per game. And keep in mind that Minshew didn't even start two of the games included in that sample. Am I going to say that he should be drafted like Murray? No. However, he is being undervalued by those in 2QB leagues. The average quarterback rushes for a touchdown every 96.2 yards rushing. Had Minshew scored three rushing touchdowns (instead of the zero that he did) on 344 rushing yards, he would've finished as the No. 14 fantasy quarterback... in his rookie season... as a sixth-round pick. The Jaguars defense is as bad as ever, so we'll see plenty of pass attempts out of him. It should also be noted that Jay Gruden (his new coordinator) has produced top-14 quarterbacks in 6-of-9 years, and the years he didn't, there were injuries and/or multiple quarterbacks playing. Minshew has zero competition and can potentially be a Jameis Winston-lite in 2020. He's the perfect target in 2QB leagues and will be streamable quite a bit in 1QB leagues.

Thompson should be in line to see plenty of passing-down work with the Jaguars, as we know that Jay Gruden loved to utilize him heavily in that role when healthy with Washington. With Leonard Fournette being released, Thompson may see a slight uptick in usage, but he does not have the size or durability to carry a major load in the backfield. In half- and full-PPR formats, he should be rostered, but even with Fournette gone, he's not worth much in standard leagues.

After the Jaguars cut Leonard Fournette, Armstead is the starter for the Jaguars. Unfortunately, it's still a team that'll be in negative gamescripts the majority of time and he's not someone who's an above average pass-catcher. I'm expecting 12-15 touches per game for him, which does offer RB3 value, but there's not a very high ceiling here.

Of the top of your head, do you know how many receivers received 100-plus targets last year? 30. Westbrook was one of them. There's a new offense being installed, but Westbrook should fit Jay Gruden's offense quite well. Remember Jamison Crowder while in Washington? Has seasons with 103 and 99 targets, so it's definitely in reach. We did hear that Gruden plans to use D.J. Chark in the slot a bit more, which tells us that Westbrook won't be pigeonholed into the slot role that he's been the last couple years. Westbrook has real speed on the perimeter and could be more than just a target-heavy slot receiver. We know that second-round pick Laviska Shenault had core muscle surgery this offseason which might put him behind the learning curve, and it's not like the Jaguars have any allegiance to Chris Conley, so it's possible that Westbrook is the 2020 version of Jamison Crowder in 2019 (finished as the WR31) with more vertical play upside. The best part is that you can grab him with one of your last picks and find out almost immediately.

We've seen tight ends have success in Jay Gruden's offense and Eifert does have one year of experience in his offense, dating all the way back to 2013. He's on his third straight one-year deal, as no team wants to commit to him. The Jaguars will be racking up the pass attempts, and they did just lose Josh Oliver for the season. It's possible Eifert has streamable weeks, but he's not in the every-week consideration.

Not many realize just how good of a year Conley had in 2019, racking up 90 targets, 47 receptions, 775 yards, and five touchdowns. It may not matter, though. The Jaguars drafted his eventual replacement in Laviska Shenault in the second round of the NFL Draft, so it's only a matter of time before Conley is booted from the starting lineup. Shenault did have offseason core muscle surgery, so it's possible Conley can hold him to start the year, but that's far from a guarantee.

Lambo had an outstanding 2019 season, hitting all but one of 34 field-goal attempts, including all four of his attempts from at least 50 yards. The Jaguars are likely to be playing from behind often this year, which could limit his chances. But given that he's hit at least 90.5% of his field-goal attempts in each of the last three seasons, he's worth considering as one of the last kickers off the board in deeper leagues.