Last week was the perfect storm for “Third-and-Jauan.” With George Kittle (hamstring), Deebo Samuel (calf) and Christian McCaffrey (Achilles) all sidelined, Jauan Jennings was literally the best fantasy player in the league for at least one week. With Kittle back in a limited practice on Wednesday, is Jennings destined to be a one-week wonder, or does he still make sense to play in Week 4 vs. the Patriots?
Jennings had a career day by just about any standard by hauling in 11 catches for 175 yards and three touchdowns against the Rams. He broke the slate with 49.5 fantasy points and was quickly the hottest name on the waiver wire.
If you were fortunate enough to land Jennings on the waiver wire, should you play him if Kittle returns this week? I think he’s still extremely startable, because most of his work can more from the absence of Deebo Samuel Sr. than from Kittle. Brandon Aiyuk ($6,400) had 10 targets last week but only converted five catches for 48 yards. If anyone loses looks to Kittle, it’s more likely to be the struggling Aiyuk than the red-hot Jennings.
Even if he loses a few targets and possibly some red zone work, I see Jennings as still a top-25 wide receiver. I have him ranked as my No. 24 WR this week which makes him a starter or a great flex play in all but the shallowest of season-long leagues.
The Patriots should be a great matchup for Jennings, since they have given up three WR touchdowns in the last two weeks and a total of 413 receiving yards to the position in those two contests. New England did a pretty good job limiting tight ends until last week against Tyler Conklin ($3,600), but their secondary has been very beatable. Even if Kittle is back at 100%, Jennings is in a better matchup. Kittle’s targets have been erratic over the last few seasons, so there’s a chance even if he plays that he won’t get as much work as Jennings.
It’s wild that Jennings is still only $5,600 in DFS contests this week, and he’ll likely be a chalky play at that price in the NFL $3.25M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st]. If Kittle comes back and draws some attention away, he could actually end up a better leverage play since his ownership could be lower.
In their home game against the Pats, the 49ers are 10-point favorites and the over/under is set at 40.5.
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