RADIO
When it comes to fantasy football, there is only one record that matters; your own, as an owner. Despite a 2-5 start, the Jacksonville Jaguars are a team filled with offensive weapons likely to put up solid and consistent fantasy points each week.
It wasn’t their best performance of the season, but the London crowd and those streaming on Yahoo! still watched Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville Jaguar offense light up the scoreboard in a win against the Buffalo Bills. While Jacksonville’s defense proved to be effective this week, scoring two touchdowns of their own, it was their inability to stop E.J. Manuel and the Buffalo Bills late in the game that led to Bortles' fantasy-point surge. Bortles ended the game with two touchdowns, bumping his season total up to 15. Turnovers have clouded Bortles' success but there has been more upside than down to starting the second-year quarterback. Expect Jacksonville to be playing from behind often and facing plenty of necessary passing situations.
However, it was the early play of running back T.J. Yeldon that kept the ball on the ground and not in the air. Yeldon rushed for 115 yards on 20 carries, and did most of his damage early before the Jaguars squandered their 24-point lead. Starting the season quietly, Yeldon has had two 100-yard rushing games in the past three weeks, including an impressive performance receiving last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The rookie running back is an asset especially in PPR leagues. He has not found the end zone often, but that can be blamed on the play calling of the Jaguars. Leading by 14 late in the third quarter, back-up running back Toby Gerhart received the ball four times inside the five yard line of Buffalo, and not the hot hands of Yeldon. Gerhart failed to score. As long as Jacksonville doesn’t abandon the run, even if playing from behind, Yeldon is a weekly must-start.
Three other must-starts on the Jaguars include those who Bortles will be throwing to: Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns, and Julius Thomas. Robinson and Hurns are targeted often and are both deep end zone threats. It’s been an up and down start for Thomas, but when healthy, he is as dangerous as any other tight end in the league. He looked relatively sluggish against the Bills, so it would be smart to monitor his status.
The Jaguars played a sloppy games against the Bills, but it’s the Jaguars. We’re not expecting perfection out of them, but can expect a continuous emergence from their offense. They head into their Bye Week, but all listed players are viable options for the remainder of the season. Five players on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Who would have thought?
