Jacksonville Jaguars Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 7

Week 7 – vs Buffalo (London) – W 34-31

QB: Bortles inaccurate again and didn’t handle pressure well.  Made the occasional good throw but they were too few and far between.

RB: Yeldon a big game and was awesome.  Showed excellent vision and patience and broke a few tackles when needed.  Should have had at least another TD but team inexplicably keeps trotting terrible RBs out in goal line situations.  Yeldon is a stud.

WR: Robinson a big game and continues to make the plays a top 10 WR makes.  Just an awesome talent.  Hurns didn’t do a ton until making a highlight-reel TD catch toward the end.  Still a great player worth riding.

TE: Thomas held to nearly nothing.  QB probably more to blame but he didn’t seem to get open when he was getting throws.

OL: Really dominated this game.  Was blowing away D on runs.  Protected against good blitz pretty well.  Still a few mistakes but looked great overall.

Def: Strong game against the run.  Clogged the line well and made great tackles.  Pressure was good but bad QB play made them look better than they were.  Coverage wasn’t great.  Gave up good games to WRs.  Decent game to RB.

Jacksonville Jaguars Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 6

Week 6 – vs Houston – L 20-31

QB: Bortles some good and some ugly in this one.  Accuracy wasn’t as good as previous week.  Fell back into making some atrocious decisions.  If his weapons weren’t so incredibly good, he’d be in the bottom 5 fantasy QBs.

RB: Yeldon DNP.  Gerhart and Robinson filled in and both were terrible.  Neither should be considered for fantasy outside of desperation.

WR: Robinson another big game and continues to play great.  Becoming a no doubt top 10 WR pick next season.  Hurns a nice game but only because of late TD.  Was a ghost prior to that.  Overshadowed by other pass catchers.  Walters a nice game but nothing to trust.  Brian Hartline clone.

TE: Thomas a big game and looked good.  Might have been because of match up but still a great game for him.  Think he’ll come down a bit with QB play.

OL: Did zero for bad RBs.  Didn’t protect well.  Still a weakness for team.

Def: Nice game against the run.  Clogged line well.  No pass rush.  Couldn’t cover elite WR.  Gave up monster game to #1 WR, good game to receiving RB.

Jacksonville Jaguars Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 5

Week 5 – @ TB – L 31-38

QB: Bortles a huge game and was more accurate than usual.  Pass rush got to him a ton but he still played well.  One of his best outings so far.

RB: Yeldon a good game and continues to look like a stud when he gets room.  Did a great job as a receiver in this game as well.  Might be the best RB in this rookie class despite the high amount of talent it contained.

WR: Hurns and Robinson huge games and are turning into studs.  Robinson is the slightly better talent but Hurns is a big play monster.  Both are must-starts at the moment.

TE: Thomas returned and did little.  As I suspected, he will probably be a very average fantasy TE in this situation.  Wouldn’t start him until he has a good game.

OL: Played okay but still a weakness.  Did a average job for run game and had QB on the run a lot.  This offense would be one of the best in the league if this unit wasn’t so bad.

Def: Got obliterated by ground game.  Couldn’t stop the run from start to finish.  Was combination of O line and great runner.  Didn’t give up much through the air because of it.  Gave up monster to RBs.

Jacksonville Jaguars Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 4

Week 4 – @ Indy – L 13-16

QB: Bortles an okay game and showed improved accuracy.  Also showed good decision-making as well, mostly staying away from elite CB.  Not a great game but looked like he was progressing.

RB: Yeldon looked great and is starting to really look like a stud.  Line gave him space and he ran incredibly well, picking his spots and showing great vision.

WR: Hurns a huge game and is continuing to make plays.  Should be owned in all leagues and started nearly every week at this point.  Robinson a nice game despite the match up.  Ditto on the own/start.

TE: An okay game for the backups but still nothing to consider until Thomas returns.

OL: Pretty strong game, especially for run game in this one.  Would make Yeldon a fantasy star if they could block like this every week.  A lot had to do with the match up.

Def: Strong run D again.  Contained passing game to shorter stuff but still gave up plenty.  Just can’t hang with elite receivers.  Gave up good game to TE and decent games to WRs.

Jacksonville Jaguars Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 3

Week 3 – @ NE – L 17-51

QB: Bortles decent numbers but the inaccuracy is still there.  Doesn’t miss by a ton but enough to be uncatchable balls for receivers.  Even the great athletes he has can’t make those plays.

RB: Blowout limited runs.  Yeldon still looks really good.  Expected better numbers but nothing he could do about score.  I’d probably buy low on him at this point.

WR: Robinson and Hurns pretty good games although Robinson’s should have been better.  Have to buy into both of these guys as legitimate plays each week.  Both are too good to sit anymore.

TE: Harbor got a nice TD grab but nothing to pay much attention to.

OL: Okay game but a little disappointed by run blocking.  Should have been much better against this D.

Def: Score says it all.  Couldn’t cover anything in passing game.  Little to no pass rush.  Was okay against the run but wore down as game went on and Blount pounded them.  Gave up a ton of good games, especially to WRs.

Last Minute Fantasy Football Pickups of Week 3 – Jones and Hurns

Been a crazy week away from fantasy football so I’ll be getting my grades for last week’s picks up…eventually.  As for this week, tough to find any RBs I like.  Other than that, loving some of these match ups.  All ownership percentages will be taken from CBS Sports this season as they are typically the highest.  So, if you play on another site, these guys should be more readily available.  Let’s plug and play!

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20%-50% Owned

Pickup of the Week – WR Marvin Jones – Cincinnati Bengals – Owned: 25%

Gets the Ravens this week who haven’t been stopping WRs for quite a while now.  The game is at Baltimore so hopefully the Bengals will not win in a blowout and let their run game do all the work.  Jones had a nice long TD grab last week and I think he gets another TD this week.  If this game turns into a shootout, he could be in for a monster.  I don’t expect that so I’m tempering my projection for him.  (Projection: 5-95-1)

Honorable Mentions

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick – New York Jets – Owned: 23%

Has been playing much better than people who haven’t seen him probably realize.  Obviously, the Jets will want to run against Philly but Fitz will probably find Marshall for plenty.  (280-3)

RB Lance Dunbar – Dallas Cowboys – Owned: 25%

A PPR play here.  Atlanta just got tore up by Vereen’s receiving so the door is open for Dunbar to do his damage this week.  (75 total yards-1)

TE Crockett Gillmore – Baltimore Ravens – Owned: 48%

One of the hot pickups of the week and with good reason.  Flacco needs players to throw to and I think it’s clear he found a good one.  Tough match up with the Bengals but he should still get his share. (4-60-1)

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Owned 20% or less

Pickup of the Week – WR Allen Hurns – Jacksonville Jaguars – Owned: 17%

At New England this week which is probably a dream match up as the Pats have been explosive on offense and atrocious on defense so far.  That should equal the Jags playing from behind and throwing a ton allowing Hurns to have a rather strong game.  And with the youth in Jacksonville, it’s not real likely they pull anyone to save them no matter how ugly the game gets.  They need the experience and Hurns could end up as a top 15 WR this week. (6-110-1)

Honorable Mentions

QB Ryan Mallett – Houston Texans – Owned: 7%

Yes, Tampa did ruin the fantasy dreams of everyone starting Saints players last week but I’m not buying that.  I think Mallett takes advantage of the match up and plays his way into the top 12 QBs this week.  (270-3)

WR Nate Washington – Houston Texans – Owned: 15%

And Mallett will need someone to throw to other than Hopkins every once in a while.  Washington should show his savvy veteran moves this week and snag a TD.  (5-65-1)

TE Gavin Escobar – Dallas Cowboys – Owned: 3%

With Witten banged up but apparently playing, Escobar looks like a really sneaky play this week.  Witten could be playing a bit of a decoy for his talented backup and give him a nice fantasy week against the Falcons. (5-45-1)

Grading My Week 1 Last Minute Fantasy Football Pickups

Nailed a few of these in the difficult-to-judge first week of the NFL fantasy season.  Not a bad start at all.  As with last season, I’ll be using the standard projections and scoring found at espn.com for these ratings.  Let’s see how I did!

20-50% owned tier

Pickup of the Week – QB Marcus Mariota – Projected: 16th among QB – Finished: 3rd – Grade: A++

Didn’t need many throws to put up monster numbers against the terrible Bucs D.  Not completely sold on him yet since this came against Tampa and a lot of work was done after the catch for him.  But there’s no doubt about his accuracy and his arm.  He looks great and I get the feeling he will be able to play well against tougher match ups.

Honorable Mentions

WR Marvin Jones – Projected 72nd among WR – Finished: T64th – Grade: D

Close but not quite on him.  He had a TD catch but the D made a great play and knocked it out of his hands.  He still made good runs after the catch on his receptions and I’m a big believer in Jones.  He’ll be on this list again almost assuredly.

TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins – Projected 22nd among TE – Finished: 2nd – Grade: A++

Wow!  This guy looked legit.  Granted, it came against one of the weaker defenses from last season but he still made some great plays in this one.  Deserves to be owned on all leagues and should be on his way to a top 10 TE season.

Minnesota Vikings Defense – Projected: 12th among Def – Finished: 17th – Grade: F

Well, Carlos Hyde is an absurdly good football player and now the world knows it.  Minnesota’s O did the D no favors but, when you can’t stop the run, you’re going to have a pretty bad fantasy game.  They did come close to returning the blocked FG for a TD that would have saved their fantasy stats.  But this team laid an egg and I would expect better things in the coming weeks.

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20% or less tier

Pickup of the Week – WR Corey Brown – Projected 75th among WR – Finished: T64th – Grade: D

Never got the deep throw I expected.  Did get one target around the end zone but was well covered and was overthrown.  He’s going to hit some deep plays but it will be a gamble when it happens.

Honorable Mentions

RB Benny Cunningham – Projected: 18th among RB – Finished: 19th – Grade: B+

Surprised at the projection by ESPN considering the match up but Cunningham looked great all-around in this one.  Was a really nice grab in PPR.  Such a talented player and hard to believe he’s a third stringer when everyone is healthy.

RB Khiry Robinson – Projected: 52nd among RB – Finished: 26th – Grade: A

Continues to look great when he gets touches and is making a lot of people wonder where Spiller will fit in this offense once he returns.  It will be a committee in New Orleans until someone else gets injured so enjoy these match ups when you get them.

WR Allen Hurns – Projected: 58th among WR – Finished: 41st – Grade: C+

Looked good even though the numbers weren’t great.  Came about a foot away from a TD but couldn’t stay in bounds after the catch.  If he gets that, he’d have been a top 20 play.  Close does not count for much in fantasy football…

Jacksonville Jaguars Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 1

Week 1 – vs Carolina – L 9-20

QB: Bortles extremely inaccurate and, when he did get the ball to his receivers, he was getting them pounded by the D.  Really questioning whether he is going to work out in the long run.

RB: Yeldon is legit.  Reminds me of McCoy but with possibly more power.  Looks like he’s going to be a huge star if the Jags can get a line in front of him.  Robinson still looks okay but is not in the same class as Yeldon and it isn’t close.

WR: Suffered because of QB.  Robinson did little and didn’t look great but throws were so bad it probably wasn’t his fault.  Hurns a decent game and came within a foot of a TD.  Looks the same as last season.  Lee DNP.

TE: Thomas DNP.  Nothing mattered here.

OL: Still not great.  Did an okay job for run game.  Still struggling in pass protection and bad QB play isn’t helping.

Def: Looked better than people realize, just like last season.  Would be very close to a top tier unit if offense could give them a rest.  Didn’t really give up any good games despite the score.

Last Minute Fantasy Football Pickups of Week 1 – Mariota and Brown

Good to be back to fantasy football and making crazy picks again.  All ownership percentages will be taken from CBS Sports this season as they are typically the highest so if you play on another site, these guys should be more readily available.  Also, I’ll be doing two groups of four players each this season.  One group will be players owned in 20-50% of leagues.  The second group will be the same as last season with players that are owned in less than 20% of leagues.  Week 1 is tough for these picks but still some good ones to go after.  Let’s pick ’em!

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20-50% owned tier

Pickup of the Week – QB Marcus Mariota – Owned: 42%

Gambling with the rookie but the match up against the Bucs is too good to pass up.  Remember the 5 TDs in the first half by Flacco against them last season?  Yeah, their passing D isn’t great and, while Mariota is not Flacco at this point, you have to believe the opportunity is there for a big game.  And add in the potential rushing numbers Mariota might tack on and you could be looking at a top 10 finish for him this week.  The only question will be can his line protect him from the strong defensive front sported by the Bucs.  I think they’ll do enough for him to have a solid start to his promising career.  (Projection: 240-2, 45-1)

Honorable Mentions

WR Marvin Jones – Owned: 32% – Probably a little too much of a forgotten man at this point but shouldn’t be for long.  If he’s fully healthy, he’s got top 20 potential, easily, and should get off to a good start at Oakland as they might focus too much on stopping Hill and Green.  I have a feeling I won’t be able to put him on this list much longer.  (85-1)

TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins – Owned: 43% – Just loved the talent he showed in his very short time on the field last season.  Now, he gets a clean bill of health, another season wiser, an improvement at QB (hopefully), and a layup for a defense to play against in Week 1 in Tennessee.  Add in a banged up Mike Evans and Seferian-Jenkins looks primed for a visit to the end zone this week.  (65-1)

Minnesota Vikings Defense – Owned: 29% – A lot of young and hungry lions on this D and they get the team that, personnel-wise, went through the most disastrous off-season in recent memory in the 49ers.  Unless Kaepernick took a major step forward in his development since last year, the Vikings D could be feasting in week 1.  (12 points)

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20% or less tier

Pickup of the Week – WR Corey Brown – Owned: 7%

Swinging for the fences with this home run hitter in week 1.  I liked his ability to get downfield last season and I think he catches at least one bomb this week against the Jags.  I wouldn’t except him to get much more as Ginn and Olsen will likely get the volume.  But don’t be surprised to see a 50+ yard TD out of this guy as he’s very capable of that.  The Jags defense is scarier than most people give them credit for but more so against the run than the pass.  Newton should find Brown and start his fantasy season off with a bang. (4-80-1)

Honorable Mentions

RB Benny Cunningham – Owned: 19% – Tough match up against the Seahawks but I don’t mind Cunningham in PPR this week.  He’s compact and elusive and has really nice hands.  Probably won’t do a ton on the ground but should be good as a receiver and might sneak one in.  (90 total yards-1)

RB Khiry Robinson – Owned: 11% – Pretty much the same story as Cunningham except he’ll not get the carries with Ingram around.  And who knows?  Maybe Brees will look his way on a short one in the red zone as he tries to replace his favorite target in Jimmy Graham.  Not confident of that but it’s not impossible… (60 total yards-1)

WR Allen Hurns – Owned: 18% – I like the ability of Marquise Lee more but he’s doubtful so Hurns gets a chance to repeat his week 1 magic from last season against the Panthers.  Certainly not expecting the same numbers but I’m hoping Bortles proves he’s better than I think and gets plenty of throws to Hurns.  He has good size and I think the defense might focus a little more on Robinson when red zone time comes letting Hurns snag one.  (5-70-1)

Jacksonville Jaguars Week 17 Fantasy Analysis

Week 17 – @ Houston – L 17-23

QB: Lost TOP badly.  Bortles rushed all game and couldn’t do much.  Line just didn’t help him at all.  Not really his fault this time.

RB: Todman a good game because of fluky trick-play TD catch.  Still doesn’t look like he’ll ever be a dominant player or important for fantasy other than desperation.

WR: Shorts a good game because he threw a TD pass.  Looks like a good receiver but more suited as a #2.  Hurns and Lee did little and just weren’t targeted much (TOP).

TE: Nothing.  Lewis barely looked at.  Tough match up.

OL: Still awful in pass protection.  Had decent game run blocking but basically played to the match up in this one.

Def: Couldn’t really stop the run although avoided big plays.  Thrown on for plenty but a lot was short.  Didn’t play terribly and was on the field too long.  Gave up good games to RBs and #2 WR.