Jacksonville Jaguars Fantasy Outlook: Are Calvin Ridley & Christian Kirk The Most Underrated WR Duo In The League?
The Jags took a big step forward last season and will look to build off that heading into the 2023 season. They have a very winnable division and have a QB who has the potential to take them to the promised land.
QB Trevor Lawrence
Lawrence made tremendous strides in his development last season, particularly in the second half of the season and into the playoffs. He used his legs more, looked more comfortable in the pocket and had his TD%, completion percentage and yards per attempt go up. The Jags went out and added more offensive weapons for Lawrence as well, drafting RB Tank Bigsby and WR Parker Washington. Calvin Ridley is also finished with his suspension and is eligible to play, so this Jags offense is ready to take the next step. Lawrence will be drafted in the 2nd round of 2 QB and/or Super Flex formats and in round 5 of 1 QB formats.
RB Travis Etienne
The one thing that held him back last year from being a top-tier back was his inconsistency. He wasn’t good for the first five weeks of the year and although he put up some top 8 RB finishes some weeks, he also put up many weeks where he wasn’t even in the top 24, meaning not an RB2 in 12-team leagues. To be fair, last year was basically his rookie season because he missed his entire rookie season due to injury. He is a solid pass-catching back but wasn’t used as much as expected in 2022 and the addition of Bigsby could take red zone carries away from Etienne this season. Still, on an offense that should be top 10, Etienne is going to be taken in round 3 and is one of the centerpieces of this exciting offense in Jacksonville.
RB Tank Bigsby
He shouldn’t be looked at until the final rounds of your draft, but Bigsby is someone you will want to draft this season. Not only is he the obvious handcuff to Etienne in this offense, but Bigsby is expected to get a lot of the red zone work in this offense, something he is built for and something that Etienne struggled with a year ago. This could lead to Bigsby vulturing a lot of TDs away from Etienne.
WR Calvin Ridley
People forget just how good Ridley was before his injury and then suspension. He acted as a WR1 in Atlanta, on a team that, for the most part wasn’t very good and had an aging Matt Ryan at QB. Now he heads to Jacksonville, where he will be the number one WR on a very good team with one of the best QBs in the league. He is underrated, and although he’s being drafted in the 4th/5th round of drafts, he has the potential to be a top 12-15 WR in this offense. The player who suffers most from the Ridley addition is Zay Jones, despite Jones’ success a year ago in the Jags offense.
WR Christian Kirk
The presence of Calvin Ridley will cut into Kirk’s targets this season, but the former number 1 WR on this team will still be plenty valuable in this offense. He plays mostly in the slot because that’s where he does his best work, and although he is likely a WR2/WR3 in fantasy, he does have WR1 upside and he can be had in round 6 or round 7. Of course, an injury to Ridley, one of the other WR or Evan Engram will boost Kirk’s value.
WR Zay Jones and WR Parker Washington
Jones is bound to see his targets and snap share decrease this season. It’s not for lack of talent or production, though. Ridley is going to eat into his targets and rookie Parker Washington could as well. Jones should be drafted, even as the WR3 on this depth chart, but I wouldn’t look to grab him until round 12 or 13. Washington is an interesting piece for a rebuilding dynasty team, however, he is going to need a serious injury to one of the top WR on this depth chart in order to have value in re-draft leagues.
TE Evan Engram
Engram was always a high-upside player with the Giants who never quite lived up to the expectations after his rookie season. He found his way to Jacksonville for the 2022 season and completely turned his career around. Although he wasn’t consistent in his production, he put up some big weeks and did it at a position that is usually volatile most weeks outside of the top 2-3 players at the position. I wouldn’t take him before round 7 and you might be able to get him in the middle to late part of round 8.
K Riley Patterson
This is basically all about team context here. Patterson was good in 2022, averaging the 14th most points per game for kickers. If the Jags end up being as good as expected, Patterson will be even better in 2023 because the offense he kicks for should be better.
Jaguars DST
This defense was good a year ago, and all of their key pieces are returning this year. They also play in a weak division with teams who aren’t very good, which sets up a fairly easy schedule for them too. Anytime they play vs. the Titans, Texans or Colts, the Jags are a must-play defense.
