Jacksonville Jaguars Fantasy Breakdown
Last season was not kind to a Jacksonville team that spent big money on Nick Foles and looked to return to their previous AFC Championship form. After losing a few key defenders in the offseason, things look dreary for the Jags. Jacksonville’s fate largely hinges on second year QB Gardner Minshew and a young defense that has lost a lot of firepower over the last 24 months.
Offseason additions:
Chris Thompson
Tyler Eifert
Aaron Lynch
Offseason subtractions:
Nick Foles
Marquise Lee
A.J. Bouye
Calais Campbell
Draft Picks:
1.9 - C.J. Henderson (CB) Florida
1.20 - K’Lavon Chaisson (LB) LSU
2.42 - Laviska Shenault (WR) Colorado
3.73 - Davon Hamilton (DT) Ohio State
4.116 - Ben Bartch (OT) St. Johns
4.137 - Josiah Scott (CB) Michigan State
4.140 - Shaquille Quarterman (LB) Miami
5.157 - Daniel Thomas (S) Auburn
5.165 - Collin Johnson (WR) Texas
6.189 - Jake Luton (QB) Oregon State
6.206 - Tyler Davis (TE) Georgia Tech
7.223 - Chris Claybrooks (CB) Memphis
Quarterback: The Jaguars made quick work of the Nick Foles experiment in the offseason paving the way for second year man Gardner Minshew. The Gardner put up very respectable numbers in his rookie season passing for 3200 yards, 20 TDs, 6 interceptions and adding 344 yards with his legs. That was with only 13 starts. There was definitely some magic with Minshew last season and he looks to build on that in his sophomore campaign. He showed a lot of chemistry with D.J. Chark, which we will get into later.
Running Back: Leonard Fournette was at his best in 2019. Rushing for 1150n yards and adding 76 receptions and another 500 yards receiving, Fournette finally lived up to the promise he showed in college. That’s the good news. The bad news is the Jaguars tried to trade him in the offseason, then threatened to cut him, and now look to ride him through 2019 before parting ways. Even worse, new OC Jay Gruden brought his boy Chris Thompson with him from Washington and he should eat into Fournette’s targets in 2020. Temper expectations. Fournette should easily be a top 24 RB with a limited ceiling. Thompson is a dart throw late in PPR drafts. He is undraftable in standard formats.
Wide Receiver: The Jaguars don’t have the sexiest receiver room by any means, but don’t let them fool you, there is talent in this group. D.J. Chark burst on the scene in 2019 with 73 receptions 1008 yards and 8 TDs. While these numbers are impressive, Chark was even more dominant than the stats show. In the first 11 weeks of the fantasy season Chark was sitting at WR 5 and was on pace for a line of 81 receptions, 1200 yards and 12 TDs. The last 6 weeks weren’t as kind to him as he suffered an injury that limited him down the stretch.
Behind Chark, the Jags return Dede Westbrook and Chris Conley. Dede disappointed in 2019 with 66 receptions and 660 yards. A lot of experts picked Dede to breakout in 2019 and he makes for an interesting post hype sleeper late in drafts. Chris Conley posted his best season to date with 47 receptions 775 yards and 5 TDs. Despite his uptick last season I expect him to regress in 2020. He should be no more than a late round dart throw. The Jags also added Laviska Shenault in the second round of the draft. Shenault projects to be a better football player than fantasy player and reminds me a lot of Cordarelle Patterson, although he has better hands. Look for Shenault to line up all over the field and be a jack of all trades weapon for the Jags.
Tight End: The Jaguars brought in Tyler Eifert to help bolster their receiving corps. Eifert is a risky play for any fantasy owner and is very TD dependent. Eifert has also always struggled with injuries, although, managed to play a full season in 2019 for the first time in his career. The former first round pick looks to resurrect his career with the Jaguars.
Defense: It seems like ages ago that the Jaguars were the trendiest defense in the NFL. The 2017 squad that took New England to the brink in the playoffs was young, ferocious, and looking to build a perennial contender. The Jaguars defense featured Telvin Smith, Calais Campbell, Jalen Ramsey, Tashaun Gipson, Malik Jackson, Dante Fowler, Marcell Dareus, and Paul Posluszny. All of them are gone. The team also has superstar Yannick Ngakoue, although if you ask him, his days in Jacksonville are over. This is a team that is in full rebound mode. Temper expectations for this young defense that has added some additional pieces in the draft with C.J. Henderson and K’Lavon Chiasson.
The Jaguars seem to be in a full rebuild mode despite sticking with Doug Marrone as their head coach. This organization has been one of the most dysfunctional in the league and still has players like Leonard Fournette and Yannick Ngakoue looking to get out of town as quickly as possible. The Jaguars need to find their identity in 2020 and it looks like it will fall on the shoulders of second year man Gardner Minshew. The Jags don’t have any slam dunk first round draft picks but their team is chock full of depth plays to target in the draft.