Jaguars Fantasy Football Preview: Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, Christian Kirk, Brian Thomas Jr., Evan Engram and More

Breaking down the Jacksonville Jaguars best fantasy football players for the upcoming season.

Let’s tackle another NFL team fantasy football preview.

Check back soon for more team previews. Of course, things will change between now and the start of the season, and FantasySP will cover any major changes when those happen.

Here’s all the team previews we’ve already covered:

AFC: Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders

NFC: San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants

Let’s talk about the Jacksonville Jaguars next.

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Trevor Lawrence Fantasy Outlook

Lawrence took a step back in 2023 after a solid 2022 season. Despite that, the team gave Lawrence a new five-year, $275 million contract extension.

In 16 games started last season, the Jaguars went 8-8 behind Lawrence. He completed 370 of his 564 passes for 4,016 yards, 21 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He hit 4,000 passing yards and topped 20 passing touchdowns for a second straight season, but jumped back into double-digits with his picks after throwing just eight in 2022.

Lawrence is a bit better runner than I think a lot of people give him credit for. He had 339 yards and four touchdowns on 70 attempts in 2023. Lawrence did fumble 12 times for a second straight season, so that’s definitely a concern.

There’s some new faces on the Jaguars’ offense, but a couple additions on the offensive line probably means Lawrence has more talent around him this season. He doesn’t have to worry about playing for a new contract, so maybe he can play free and easy and become the big-time quarterback he was expected to be.

After his down season, Lawrence is QB17 and going around pick 122 in fantasy drafts so far.

Looking at the quarterbacks going ahead of him and then the ones going after, I actually think it’s more likely he finishes lower than QB17. A lot of my thinking is coming off how he performed last season, but until he proves he can consistently deliver, I’m not going to trust him. 

I’d prefer Lawrence after the likes of Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford, but he’s got enough upside to at least draft in standard leagues.

Running Back Fantasy Outlooks

Travis Etienne will lead the Jacksonville backfield again this season. Tank Bigsby and D'Ernest Johnson are a couple veteran backups, while rookie Keilan Robinson is also an option.

Etienne rushed for 1,008 yards on 267 attempts in his second NFL season. He got 47 more attempts, but averaged 1.3 yards less per carry. Etienne added 476 receiving yards and a score on 58 catches and 73 targets.

Bigsby played in all 17 games as a rookie, but didn’t touch the ball much. He rushed 50 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns, along with catching one of his four targets for six yards.

Johnson played in 17 games with the Jaguars last season. He rushed for 108 yards on 41 attempts, but didn’t score. Johnson had 140 receiving yards on 10 catches and 12 targets, but again no scores.

Robinson was a fifth-round pick of the team in the most recent draft. He started his collegiate career at Alabama and then spent three seasons with Texas. Robinson really never stood out, but he ended up scoring 11 touchdowns over four seasons.

Etienne should be the workhorse back as long as he’s healthy. He’s RB8 and going around pick 17 right now.

I wrote a little while ago about how I’d prefer Etienne in the third round instead of late in the second and I’m still on board with that. Unless he increases his yardage by a good amount, I see his fantasy value dropping, as I don’t envision him scoring 12 total touchdowns again. 

I’d prefer backs like Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs over Etienne, so unless he drops several picks, I’d pass on Etienne this season.

The other running backs on the team are not fantasy options in standard leagues unless Etienne gets injured. They also aren’t very good options in deeper leagues. Bigsby and Robinson have a little more dynasty value, but they still are not huge draft options.

Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlooks

Gabe Davis, Brian Thomas Jr. and Christian Kirk are slated to serve as the team’s starting receivers this season. Joshua Cephus, Devin Duvernay and Parker Washington look like the top backups at this point.

Kirk played in 12 games with the Jaguars last season. He had 787 receiving yards and three scores on 57 catches and 85 targets. Kirk had 1,108 yards and eight scores on 84 grabs and 133 targets in 2022.

Davis spent his first four NFL seasons in Buffalo. In 17 games last season, he had 45 catches on 81 targets for 746 yards and seven scores. His production has been pretty consistent in his four seasons, but as a big-play threat, his fantasy outputs are inconsistent.

Thomas had a couple OK seasons at LSU before taking off in 2023. He had 1,079 yards and 15 scores to become a first-round draft pick.

Washington played in nine games in his rookie season in 2023. He had 16 grabs on 21 targets for 132 yards and two scores.

Cephus was an undrafted free agent this offseason. He improved in each season during his five-year run at UTSA.

Kirk is the top Jacksonville receiver off draft boards so far. He’s WR31 and going around pick 68.

Kirk has the most experience playing with Lawrence, so I think it’s fair that he’s first. I see a good amount of value if you can land Kirk around his ADP. Sure, Davis and Thomas might steal some targets and production away, but for a late seventh-round fantasy pick, having a chance at a team’s No. 1 WR is something I’d take often.

Thomas is WR47 and going around pick 110. Davis is WR61 and going around pick 148.

Both should put up enough numbers to warrant roster spots in standard leagues. They won’t be startable every week, and they probably will be annoying to roster, as they’ll be part of start/sit stories often. I like the idea of drafting them in deeper leagues, but probably would shy away from them (unless their ADPs drop) in standard leagues.

The team’s backups are all options in very deep leagues, but probably should be viewed as waiver wire options instead of draftable players. Unless there’s an injury to a receiver in the top three, none of the backups will be able to consistently perform at a high enough level that would warrant fantasy starts.

Tight End Fantasy Outlooks

Another reason to shy away from some of the receivers is because tight end Evan Engram is back. 

Engram played in 17 games a season ago, making 114 grabs on 143 targets. He went for 963 yards and four touchdowns.

It was Engram’s best season in the NFL, and it wouldn’t shock me to have him finish as the second-leading receiver (behind Kirk) this season. He’s even more valuable in PPR leagues, and hopefully could find the end zone a few more times this season.

He’s TE8 and going around pick 70 in fantasy drafts. While I wouldn’t take him over any of the TEs going before him, I love the fantasy value you could get back with Engram around his ADP. He could be your starting TE every week, and you don’t need to spend an early pick on him - sign me up!

Brenton Strange and Luke Farrell are Engram’s backups. Neither should be rostered in any fantasy leagues, and likely still wouldn’t be big fantasy assets if Engram were to miss extended time.

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