Chad Henne has thrown 55 TDs and 62 INTs during his six-year career.
QB Chad Henne
(2013 QB Rank—#22, 14.8 FPts/G)
If you have ever had to put Chad Henne into your fantasy lineup, you probably did so while crossing your fingers. As he keeps the seat warm for rookie Blake Bortles, Henne is rather boring in the fantasy game. Coming off a career-best 503 passing attempts, Henne barely maintained a 60 percent completion rate en route to a pedestrian 3,241 passing yards. If that wasn’t enough to drive away fantasy owners, he made sure to throw more interceptions than touchdowns. In fact, Henne has never thrown more touchdowns than interceptions in a single season during his six-year career. Most of the Jags’ receiving corps have been banged up this preseason, not to mention they’re inexperienced. At best, Henne will find some level of chemistry with his younger wideouts, keep the chains moving and limit his turnovers to allow the offense to be fantasy relevant. Unless you play in a cavernous league that starts two quarterbacks, you are better off hoping Henne is good enough to make somebody besides Toby Gerhart fantasy relevant before relinquishing the job to Bortles permanently.
QB Blake Bortles
(2013 QB Rank—N/A)
The first quarterback off the board in the 2014 draft, Blake Bortles is the future of the Jaguars. Several teams liked his strong arm and decision-making but his natural ability to elude defenders under pressure made him look more NFL-ready than others in his class. Jacksonville has set up a great environment for Bortles to thrive so long as the infusion of younger talent develops under head coach Gus Bradley. It may take another year or two, however, before the fantasy promise translates into production on the field. Chad Henne has proven to be a capable signal caller and barring injury, he should lead the Jags offense into the middle of the season while the rookie works on his craft. Bortles will likely have more value toward the middle to end of the regular season if Henne doesn’t find enough W’s. Keep him in mind as a midseason upside pickup.
RB Toby Gerhart
(2013 RB Rank—#63, 1.1 FPts/G)
The Jaguars needed to become younger on offense and increase optimism amongst an offensive unit that ranked second to last in total rushing yards during the 2013 regular season. Thus, the Jags parted ways with longtime face of the franchise Maurice Jones-Drew after injuries slowed his effectiveness in recent years. To replace one of the most popular players on the team, they turned to a guy trying to shake the shadow of an NFL great. In Toby Gerhart, Jacksonville gets a young, motivated running back that has watched and learned from the best pure running back in today’s game for the past four seasons. When given the opportunity, he has shown that he can be a productive runner between the tackles as well as in passing situations. Now he gets an opportunity to handle a full workload for a team that needs to lean on the run if it expects to stay competitive within the division. Considering that only 11 running backs toted the rock at least 250 times in 2013 after 14 surpassed that mark in 2012, Gerhart immediately becomes a rare commodity. Gerhart stands to see his draft day price increase each week leading up to the season opener so be careful not to overvalue him if the hype runs out of control. The offense has nowhere to go but up in 2014 and Gerhart will be leading the charge for fantasy owners.
RB Jordan Todman
(2013 RB Rank—#58, 3.9 FPts/G)
Jacksonville brought Jordan Todman into the fold to provide depth at the position knowing they were not going to keep Rashard Jennings following the 2012 season. In his third season as a pro, Todman finally earned the chance to show what he could do during Jacksonville’s Week 15 contest against the Bills. In that game, he set personal bests in carries (25) and rushing yards (109) while also snatching four catches for 44 yards. He will battle Denard Robinson to be the team’s primary backup to Toby Gerhart, but he will ultimately find himself short on touches to have enough value to be rostered as anything other than a handcuff for Gerhart owners.
RB Denard Robinson
(2013 WR Rank—#145, 0.6 FPts/G)
Denard Robinson remains third on the depth chart trying to carve out a role on a team needing playmakers. Recently, general manager Dave Caldwell shed light on a hand injury that Robinson has been dealing with since playing for Michigan. Nerve damage to his throwing hand made it hard to keep his hand opened fully. Through rehabilitation he has been able to regain flexibility and comes into his second training camp with renewed confidence. The Jaguars drafted Robinson in the second round a year ago knowing about the nerve damage, so they obviously believe he is capable of developing into a productive piece of the offense. A strong camp would allow Jacksonville’s coaching staff to use Robinson’s athleticism in screens and option packages, yet his fantasy value remains limited until he proves himself.
WR Cecil Shorts
(2013 WR Rank—#46, 7.4 FPts/G)
Cecil Shorts enters 2014 as the most successful fantasy wideout on the team. He also will try to help fans and fantasy owners forget the frustration of Justin Blackmon. Yet a calf injury for the second consecutive preseason has kept Jacksonville’s top receiver sidelined for most of mini-camp practices. A return during training camp is likely, however, past shoulder and concussion injuries added to the negative perception around Jacksonville’s lack of passing game will keep Shorts’ 2014 projections at bay. Despite the inherent injury risks, Shorts represents a player entering a contract year who should consistently see balls thrown his way. Last year, he saw double-digit targets in nine of his 13 games. That trend should continue, making him a stronger value in deeper PPR leagues.
WR Marqise Lee
(2013 WR Rank—N/A)
Yet another receiver who has been slowed down by injury this offseason is rookie Marquis Lee. His ankle injury should be behind him in time for training camp to start and that’s where his early value will begin to take shape. The second rounder out of USC saw his stock drop as a senior heading into the draft because of injury and an uptick in dropped passes. He will need to overcome both of those issues during the preseason to reward the Jaguars and fantasy owners. When healthy, Lee demonstrates the ability to be an explosive down field threat, as well as with reverses and plays after the catch. He is in the mix to start opposite Cecil Shorts along with Ace Sanders and fellow rookie Allen Robinson. Robinson is a little behind the others right now because of injuries as well but Jacksonville is hoping to see both players develop into a duo akin to the days of Keenan McCardell and Jimmy Smith.
WR Ace Sanders
(2013 WR Rank—#86, 3.7 FPts/G)
Ace Sanders heads into 2014 with only one season under his belt; however that makes him more experienced than most of his competition. A hamstring injury kept him out of OTAs but he is expected to be back on the field during training camp. The 5’7” receiver out of South Carolina will probably end up in the slot and handle punt returning duties giving him a chance to make plays, but preventing him from making much of a fantasy impact this season. Nonetheless, at this position, injuries are abundant and there are clear battles to be won and lost. Fantasy owners should monitor the situation during the preseason.
TE Marcedes Lewis
(2013 TE Rank—#28, 6.0 FPts/G)
It seems like forever and a day since Marcedes Lewis’ magical 10-touchdown season in 2010. He just hasn’t been able to reach that level of production since and now finds himself entering his ninth season in the league. Lewis hasn’t logged a game with over 70 yards receiving since Week 17 of 2012 and another league average year is probable. The trends suggest more decline is possible, especially with the injection of youth and an offense that is likely to focus on the ground game. Even as a matchup play it will be tough to trust Lewis as a consistent fantasy option. His backup, Clay Harbor, does not provide any significant fantasy upside.
