Last night played out largely as expected. More throwing than I anticipated from Gardner Minshew, but it made sense: the rookie looked very comfortable in his second career start, and Leonard Fournette looked very uncomfortable in his 24th career start. I said neither QB would throw for more than 250 and a score, and fantasy-wise, that's pretty much what happened. Derrick Henry also produced as expected with a middling RB3 performance. And I should have bet on D.J. Chark after believing in him before weeks 1 and 2. He's a very good football player.
Back to Fournette: What is going on? Is he another Trent Richardson? (To be fair, I wrote these two sentences a couple minutes before his late-fourth 69-yard run.) By my count, eight of his first 11 carries went for zero yards or less. Despite the Jags jumping to an early 14-0 lead the stretched to halftime, Fournette earned only five carries in those first two quarters. It says a lot that the game plan was to keep the ball in Minshew's hands, rather than trust their former first-round, can't-miss back.
As you might recall, throughout last season I remarked how much better T.J. Yeldon looked in Jacksonville after Fournette went down, and even after he returned. The numbers didn't lie: Yeldon averaged 4.0 YPC along with 8.9 yards per catch on 55 receptions. Fournette averaged a pitiful 3.3 YPC and slightly fewer yards per catch.
These days Yeldon is a third-stringer in Buffalo. That says it all, doesn't it?
Fournette was briefly suspended late last year, and some believed the Jags might cut him. They still might before his contract's up in early 2021. His career rushing efficiency is lacking. His health issues are well documented. His attitude has been questionable. The odds are favorable that rookie Ryquell Armstead will get a shot before this season's up. Yes, that 69-yard run helped. But it doesn't change the fact that he's not (yet?) the guy this franchise thought they drafted with the fourth overall pick.
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Speaking of backfields, RB chaos reigns in modern-day fantasy football. Nearly every team is either in a timeshare, or the lead back is a week-by-week starter. The top guys are all firmly in place: Saquon Barkley, CMC, Alvin Kamara, Zeke Elliott, Le'Veon Bell, and so on. But on 20+ teams, situations vary from somewhat muddled to very muddled. According to latest reports, even Aaron Jones's job isn't secure.
This goes back to one of my earlier columns this year on hedging. It's a bit easier to deal with the Jones news if you have Jamaal Williams, just like it's easier to handle Chris Carson's fumbling if you've also rostered Rashaad Penny.
I strongly urge you to double-up your RBs whenever possible, both as injury insurance and as manager-decision-making insurance. It's known as fantasy's most fluid position for a reason.
Back to Fournette: What is going on? Is he another Trent Richardson? (To be fair, I wrote these two sentences a couple minutes before his late-fourth 69-yard run.) By my count, eight of his first 11 carries went for zero yards or less. Despite the Jags jumping to an early 14-0 lead the stretched to halftime, Fournette earned only five carries in those first two quarters. It says a lot that the game plan was to keep the ball in Minshew's hands, rather than trust their former first-round, can't-miss back.
As you might recall, throughout last season I remarked how much better T.J. Yeldon looked in Jacksonville after Fournette went down, and even after he returned. The numbers didn't lie: Yeldon averaged 4.0 YPC along with 8.9 yards per catch on 55 receptions. Fournette averaged a pitiful 3.3 YPC and slightly fewer yards per catch.
These days Yeldon is a third-stringer in Buffalo. That says it all, doesn't it?
Fournette was briefly suspended late last year, and some believed the Jags might cut him. They still might before his contract's up in early 2021. His career rushing efficiency is lacking. His health issues are well documented. His attitude has been questionable. The odds are favorable that rookie Ryquell Armstead will get a shot before this season's up. Yes, that 69-yard run helped. But it doesn't change the fact that he's not (yet?) the guy this franchise thought they drafted with the fourth overall pick.
---
Speaking of backfields, RB chaos reigns in modern-day fantasy football. Nearly every team is either in a timeshare, or the lead back is a week-by-week starter. The top guys are all firmly in place: Saquon Barkley, CMC, Alvin Kamara, Zeke Elliott, Le'Veon Bell, and so on. But on 20+ teams, situations vary from somewhat muddled to very muddled. According to latest reports, even Aaron Jones's job isn't secure.
This goes back to one of my earlier columns this year on hedging. It's a bit easier to deal with the Jones news if you have Jamaal Williams, just like it's easier to handle Chris Carson's fumbling if you've also rostered Rashaad Penny.
I strongly urge you to double-up your RBs whenever possible, both as injury insurance and as manager-decision-making insurance. It's known as fantasy's most fluid position for a reason.