Jaguars Fantasy Football Outlook for Week 7: Should You Start Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, Christian Kirk, Evan Engram and More?
Week 7 of the NFL season kicks off with a Thursday night showdown between the Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints.
Like we have the past several weeks, let’s dive into both team’s best fantasy players and determine whether or not you should consider starting them. We’ll start with the Jaguars.
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Trevor Lawrence Fantasy Outlook
The reason I decided to start with Jacksonville’s team is because of the status of Lawrence. The quarterback is dealing with a knee injury, but wants to play on Thursday.
I expected Lawrence to become one of the premier fantasy quarterbacks in the league this season, but that hasn’t happened, at least yet. He’d thrown for at least 200 yards in every contest until week 6, when he was held to 181. Lawrence threw two touchdowns and an interception to help his team prevail.
Lawrence has at least one touchdown pass in all but one contest. He’s only got seven touchdown passes for the season though. Lawrence has thrown three total interceptions and lost three fumbles.
As if playing through some pain might not be enough, Lawrence will be facing one of the top defenses in the league. The Saints’ defense only allows an average of 13 fantasy points a contest. Between the matchup and the injury, Lawrence is the 23rd-ranked quarterback in our week 7 projections.
Running Back Fantasy Outlook
Travis Etienne has absolutely dominated the Jacksonville backfield to this point in the season. He’s played 336 snaps and gotten 134 of the 163 total running back touches.
Etienne has rushed for 451 yards and five touchdowns on 113 carries, while catching 21 of his 24 targets for an additional 172 yards.
Etienne has topped 100 scrimmage yards three times already and has scored four of his five touchdowns in the past two weeks. He’s received at least 12 rushing attempts a game and also caught at least two passes.
Tank Bigsby and D'Ernest Johnson have played sparingly, with 75 and 23 snaps, respectively.
Bigsby has rushed 18 times for 43 yards, but has scored twice. He’s caught one of his three targets for 6 yards. Johnson has rushed seven times for 27 yards and caught all three of his targets for 15 yards.
The Saints are even better at slowing opposing running backs than they are quarterbacks, sitting second in the league with just 14 fantasy points allowed a contest.
Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlook
Jacksonville has one of the more balanced group of pass catchers in the entire league. Three guys have between 44-49 targets, and those three guys are all between 300-385 receiving yards.
Christian Kirk currently leads the team with 49 targets and 384 receiving yards. He’s caught 33 passes, two touchdowns and two passes inside the red zone. He’s played the second-most snaps.
Calvin Ridley has 26 catches on 44 targets, going for 363 yards and two scores. He’s hauled in two of his five red zone looks. He leads the pass catchers with 349 snaps played.
Zay Jones has dealt with injuries this season, and is on the injury report again with a knee injury. His status will be one to watch as kickoff approaches. Jones has eight catches on 18 targets for 78 yards and two scores. He’s got a team-leading seven red zone targets, catching three.
Jamal Agnew and Tim Jones could see extended roles if Jones is out. Agnew has played 99 snaps this season, making five catches on six targets for 54 yards during that time on the field. Jones has just three grabs on five targets for 10 yards across 107 snaps played.
Elijah Cooks is another option on the active roster, but he’s played just 10 snaps and doesn’t have a target this season.
The receivers will be going up against a Saints’ defense that’s 12th in the league against wideouts, allowing an average of 32 fantasy points a game. New Orleans allows a bit over 21 targets a game to wide receivers.
Tight End Fantasy Outlook
While only three receivers have really made an impact, and really only two with how much Zay Jones has been injured, tight end Evan Engram has made up for it.
Brenton Strange is also worth a mention here after catching two passes, including a touchdown, in the team’s week 6 game. The 2023 second-round pick played a season-high 34 snaps, so the team might be trying to get him more involved.
No shocker here, but Engram and Strange have a tough matchup ahead of them, as New Orleans only allows opposing tight ends to score eight fantasy points a contest.
Kicker and Defense Outlook
Brandon McManus is the Jaguars’ kicker, and he’s been pretty solid to begin the season. He’s connected on 12 of his 14 field goal attempts, with his misses both from over 40 yards. McManus is perfect on 14 extra point attempts.
McManus is the 19th-ranked kicker in our weekly projections.
Jacksonville’s defense will be facing a Saints’ offense that’s been average when it comes to passing and running the ball. New Orleans has turned the ball over eight times and has allowed 19 sacks.
Jacksonville’s defense is good against the run but is the worst in the league against the pass. The Jaguars have a league-leading 15 takeaways but only 12 sacks.
Jacksonville is the 12th-ranked defense for week 7.
Who to Start in Week 7
Let’s start with Lawrence, who I expect will play. If he doesn’t I would not consider C.J. Beathard as a good replacement. Seeing as Lawrence hasn’t really performed all that well this season, adding in his injury and then factoring the Saints’ defense, I’d lean away from starting Lawrence. You might not have another decent option and be forced to start him, but I wouldn’t expect Lawrence to finish any higher than an average quarterback this week.
It’s also a tough matchup for Etienne, but given how he’s played the last couple weeks, and then factoring in Lawrence’s injury, I think Jacksonville leans on him early and often enough to put up a good fantasy outing. A touchdown would help make up for a lower yardage output.
I don’t think Bigsby or Johnson are all that valuable this week, even in deeper leagues. New Orleans defense is simply too tough, and the only way either guy puts up a decent point total is if they score.
Seeing as Jones didn’t practice Monday or Tuesday in any capacity, I’d expect him to sit out again this week. Keep an eye on that as the game approaches.
If Jones doesn’t play I would consider both Ridley and Kirk as potential starters. It’s a tough matchup for them, but without too many other pass catchers, both have a chance to put up solid outings. I don’t think Ridley will finish in the top 10 at the position unless he scores at least once, and I think Kirk has a solid chance of outsourcing Ridley.
If Jones does play, I think it will be in a limited fashion, so I wouldn’t play him. I’d still consider Ridley and Kirk, but probably knock them down a few more pegs in the projections.
Outside of those three guys, I wouldn’t consider anyone else a starter, even in deeper leagues. The tight ends and running backs will soak up most of the rest of the targets.
Speaking of the tight ends, Engram is another guy ranked near the top of his position, but I would prefer to stay away from. New Orleans defense is great against tight ends, and Engram hasn’t scored yet, and I don’t think he’ll catch enough passes or rack up the yardage to overcome not scoring. I also think it’s possible that Strange takes a few snaps away from Engram and possibly steals another touchdown. I wouldn’t start Strange, because you’d basically need a touchdown to warrant playing him.
Between Lawrence’s injury, a tough Saints’ defense and the Saints’ inconsistent offense, I could see a low-scoring game taking place. With that in mind, I’d not add McManus to start as my kicker, even though he might get a couple attempts.
I’d also stay away from the Jaguars’ defense, as their pass coverage worries me. You can start them if you have no better options, but you’ll need a couple takeaways in order to have them match their projection rank.
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