Fantasy Football Player Notes

Some will see Chark's three targets and think, "Oh no, I spent too high of a draft pick on him!" I would advise against feeling that way. They threw the ball 20 times in that game, a number that'll never happen again. In 2019, they averaged 36.8 pass attempts per game, and not only did they downgrade at running back, but their defense got worse. He'll be just fine. He was on the field for 42 snaps while Cole played 33 and Shenault played 31. The lone downside to what we saw in Week 1 was his slot usage, as he played just 16.7 percent of his snaps in the slot. That comes after Jay Gruden talked about moving him around more, so we'll see if it's just too small of a sample size to judge. The Titans cornerback unit took a hit before Week 1 when they had to place Adoree Jackson on injured reserve, leaving them with Malcolm Butler, Johnathan Joseph, and rookie Kristian Fulton. While Butler and Joseph were good for a portion of their careers, they're both well past their prime. The low team total has me concerned about the upside for Chark, but his targets should get back into the 6-8 range in this game. In two games against them last year, he caught 9-of-11 targets for 114 yards and a touchdown. Consider him a sturdy WR2 in this matchup.

The only running back in the league who got 100 percent of his team's running back carries in Week 1 was... Robinson. His 62 yards on 16 carries was actually pretty solid against the Colts run defense, and don't forget, the Jaguars ran just 47 plays in that game. He touched the ball on 36.2 percent of their plays. That's massive opportunity. Unfortunately, their play count will likely be low again and they're going against another solid run-stopping unit. They lost linebacker Rashaan Evans early in the game against the Broncos, which led to Melvin Gordon rushing for 78 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. It was also the first game they played without defensive tackle Jurrell Casey, so it's possible they aren't a dominant unit. Overall, they allowed 0.86 PPR points per opportunity last year to running backs, which ranked as the 12th-most, while the Colts allowed the 23rd-most. The issue here is gamescript, as we are fully expecting the Jaguars to fall behind early. Robinson ran 11 pass routes last week while Thompson ran 12 routes, so it's possible we see Robinson no matter the gamescript. Given his workload last week, he can be played as an RB3 with a decent floor.

It seems that Shenault stole the perimeter role opposite D.J. Chark right away, as he played 31 snaps to just 16 for Chris Conley. It stinks they're still somewhat sharing that role, but it's good to know Shenault was used all over the field, including the slot and backfield. We can't get excited about a 37-yard, one-touchdown performance against the Colts weak secondary, but he should've been added to rosters this week with the chance that he turns into the team's No. 2 option behind Chark. The Titans have Johnathan Joseph lining up at LCB, which is where Shenault lined up most of the time. Joseph is a proven veteran who's past his prime, but he's still held opposing quarterbacks under a 100 QB Rating in his coverage for 12 straight years. He used to run a 4.31 40-yard dash, so he's not slow, though he's obviously not that fast at 36 years old. I wouldn't trust Shenault as anything more than a WR5 right now, though the arrow is pointing up.

The only running back in the league who got 100 percent of his team's running back carries in Week 1 was... Robinson. His 62 yards on 16 carries was actually pretty solid against the Colts run defense, and don't forget, the Jaguars ran just 47 plays in that game. He touched the ball on 36.2 percent of their plays. That's massive opportunity. Unfortunately, their play count will likely be low again and they're going against another solid run-stopping unit. They lost linebacker Rashaan Evans early in the game against the Broncos, which led to Melvin Gordon rushing for 78 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. It was also the first game they played without defensive tackle Jurrell Casey, so it's possible they aren't a dominant unit. Overall, they allowed 0.86 PPR points per opportunity last year to running backs, which ranked as the 12th-most, while the Colts allowed the 23rd-most. The issue here is gamescript, as we are fully expecting the Jaguars to fall behind early. Robinson ran 11 pass routes last week while Thompson ran 12 routes, so it's possible we see Robinson no matter the gamescript. Given his workload last week, he can be played as an RB3 with a decent floor, though his ceiling leaves a lot to be desired. Knowing Thompson isn't being used on any early-down work and is splitting pass routes with Robinson, it's fair to say he's nothing more than a limited ceiling RB4/5 option.

I figured it would be 80-plus percent of Eifert at tight end, but nope. The Jaguars had him play 28 snaps while O'Shaughnessy played 20 himself. There's also a gentleman named Ben Ellefson who played 13 snaps. The Titans were one of the worst in the league at defending tight ends last year (allowed the sixth-most fantasy points) and that continued in Week 1 when Noah Fant turned six targets into 5/81/1 against them, but let's get serious, you aren't considering either of these tight ends.

He ranked No. 2 in snaps among the Jaguars receivers and is clearly the primary slot receiver in Jay Gruden's offense, as he played 68.2 percent of his routes in the slot. That's great, though he may take a dip if/when Dede Westbrook is active (he wasn't in Week 1). Cole led the team in targets in Week 1, and he caught all five of his targets for 47 yards and a touchdown. In a game they're expected to fall behind, we should see a lot more pass attempts. The Titans moved on from Logan Ryan this offseason, so they're playing a mixture of rookies in the slot with Kristian Fulton and Chris Jackson. The two weren't tested a whole lot in the opener, as they combined to see four slot targets that netted 2/28/0. We can't assume that Cole is going to be a prominent part of this offense based on one week, though if Westbrook remains inactive, Cole should be considered a decent WR5-type option.

I figured it would be 80-plus percent of Eifert at tight end, but nope. The Jaguars had him play 28 snaps while O'Shaughnessy played 20 himself. There's also a gentleman named Ben Ellefson who played 13 snaps. The Titans were one of the worst in the league at defending tight ends last year (allowed the sixth-most fantasy points) and that continued in Week 1 when Noah Fant turned six targets into 5/81/1 against them, but let's get serious, you aren't considering either of these tight ends.