Today I take a look at the Jacksonville Jaguars and the dump truck full of fantasy options they offer in 2009. Seriously, this could be the quickest and briefest fantasy forecast I'll have; the Jaguars had just 3 players appearing in mock drafts. MJD is the most popular, most productive, and most awesome Jaguar threat, especially with Fred Taylor off to New England. Let's see who else went.
The triplets of Jacksonville:
- Maurice Jones-Drew RB - Avg. Selection* 3.7; 100% drafted
- Torry Holt WR - Avg. Selection 93; 100% drafted
- David Garrard QB - Avg. Selection 126; 93% drafted
*-100th selection = 10th pick round 10 (10 man); 6th pick round 9 (12 man); 3rd pick round 8 (14 man)
After the jump, I forecast the Jaguars in less time than it takes you to toast a pop-tart...
Maurice Jones-Drew
Aside from fantasy owners, no one stands to benefit more from Fred Taylor's departure than Maurice Jones-Drew. MJD already received a mega-contract and is viewed as the franchise center piece on offense. He is a franchise center piece for your fantasy offense also, you just have to be lucky enough to get him. If you're picking 6th in a league, trying talking some serious smack about how MJD looks terrible, or MJD won't last a full season - anything to get Jones-Drew on your team. The most exciting aspect of Jones-Drew is his 38 total TDs in just three seasons, all of which included Fred Taylor as a teammate. At the very least, I expect MJD to set career highs in TDs and total yards. MJD is easily worth a top 4 selection in your draft. Fantasy Forecast: 1600 total yards, 16 Total TDs
David Garrard
If I asked you how many times Garrard threw for over 250 yards in 2008, what would you answer? The answer is five times, to go along with five multi-TD games. Also in 2008, Garrard had zero TDs in 3 contests, not a very good stat, but I imagine drafting Garrard as a QB2, with the only intention of starting him during your QB1's bye week. If you're in a deep league, and Garrard is your weekly QB1, feel at least knowing Garrard was 9th in fantasy scoring amongst QBs. Garrard will serve your fantasy squad best as a back-up, so taking him in the 120s isn't completely unreasonable. However, Matt Hasselbeck's ADP was the same (126) and he'd be a much better selection. Fantasy Forecast: 3400 Pass Yards, 16 PaTDs, 10 INTs
Torry Holt
Consider Torry Holt this year's version of Isaac Bruce. Holt was ousted from St. Louis and ventured to Jacksonville to become the team's top target. Bruce had a similar experience in 2008, and ended up leading the 49ers in receiving. Torry Holt is four years younger than Bruce, so I expect similar things to happen for him in 2009. While Holt isn't the spring chicken he once was, 2008 snapped a streak of 8 consecutive 1000-yard seasons. The Rams were a mess, and one can hardly blame Holt for totalling just 796 yards and 3 TDs. In Jacksonville, Holt gives the Jaguars the experience they've needed at WR since Jimmy Smith. While Holt may not set the world on fire, he's certainly a great option as your WR3 (considering you draft him around his ADP). Fantasy Forecast: 1000 total yards, 6 TDs
No Sleep for you
I've got no Jacksonville sleeper, so those expecting to see Mike Thomas mentioned, this is the only time. Ditto for those curious about Mike Walker, Troy Williamson (LOL!) or any other Jaguar. The Jacksonville team defense is intriguing, but at this point, I'd recommend looking elsewhere. Perhaps keep an eye on Mike Thomas during the season, and also note how the Jaguars Defense plays. If you can get your hands on MJD, do so and landing Torry Holt with a pick in the 90s almost seems too good to be true. The Jaguars have their bye week in Week 7, so any thoughts of drafting both Garrard and Hasselbeck as your team's QBs is dampered slightly (Seattle shares the bye). This is seriously it for Jacksonville's fantasy forecast.
Ask the Nation
Are your pop tarts ready?
(all fantasy stats are based on 2007-2008 Yahoo! Standard Public league scoring)