The Jacksonville Jaguars are coming back from their bye week when they take on the Raiders in a favorable matchup this Sunday, but they suffered a big loss this week when standout rookie WR/CB Travis Hunter sustained a knee injury in practice. Without Hunter this week against the Raiders, can Brian Thomas Jr. finally have a breakout week or will other Jags’ receivers like Dyami Brown, Parker Washington, or Tim Patrick step up?
Let’s take a look at the latest injury update on Hunter and then examine the fantasy outlook for the Jaguars’ pass-catchers in Week 9 and beyond.
Travis Hunter Injury Update
Hunter wasn’t listed on Wednesday’s injury report but showed up as limited on Thursday with a knee issue. On Friday, Head Coach Liam Coen announced that he’ll be placed on IR after suffering a non-contact knee injury during Thursday’s practice.
Coen didn’t say exactly what the injury was or how long Hunter would be out, but he’ll be out at least the next four games, putting his earliest return at Week 13. Since it’s a non-contact injury, though, he could be out even longer, depending on the severity.
Hunter was stepping into a larger role in the offense and played a season-high 87% of offensive snaps in Week 7 before the bye week and drew a season-high 14 targets. On the year, he has a total of 45 targets, which is 27% of all receiver targets and second on the team to only Thomas.
His absence will vacate significant usage, but who could be part of the answer to step up for Trevor Lawrence and the offense?
Brian Thomas Jr. Fantasy Football Outlook
Thomas has been practicing this week using a harness to protect his injured right shoulder, that forced him to leave the team’s Week 7 loss to the Rams. His departure could be one of the reasons for Hutner’s extra workload, but now the tables will be turned with Thomas getting more targets with Hunter out.
Thomas has struggled to live up to sky-high expectations this season, although he hasn’t been bad overall. He has 27 catches for 365 yards and two touchdowns, slightly better numbers than Hunter put up so far this year. He had season highs with eight catches and 90 yards while finding the end zone in his last fully healthy game in Week 6 against the Seahawks. He would have added an explosive 54-yard score later in the game as well, but it was called back since Hunter had lined up in the neutral zone on the play.
Thomas should get more work without Hunter in the coming weeks, and that could lead to a long-awaited breakout. He has a very favorable matchup this week against the Raiders, who have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to wide receivers. As long as his own injuries doen’t hold him back, he has a very high ceiling this week.
After tough matchups against the Texans and Chargers, BTJ and the Jags other receivers have a very favorable schedule down the stretch for fantasy football taking on the Cardinals, Titans, and Colts in Week 12, Week 13 and Week 14. They have a rough Week 16 matchup against the Broncos, but lots can change before that point.
Parker Washington Fantasy Football Outlook
With Thomas out for part of Week 7’s matchup, Washington stepped up with a season-high 10 targets. He caught four of those passes for 52 yards and added three carries for 10 yards to finish with double-digit fantasy points for the second time this season.
Last year, Washington flashed upside in his second year out of Penn State, and had multiple catches in each of the final six games of the season. He had six catches for 103 yards and at touchdown to start that stretch and added two more touchdowns before the end of the season.
He has boom-or-bust potential if he regularly gets more work. He’s third on the team in targets right now behind only Thomas and Hunter. If Thomas is limited or out this week, Washington would become an amazing value for DFS and a high-upside flier for season-long leagues.
Dyami Brown Fantasy Football Outlook
Another receiver in the mix for the Jaguars to help with the extra available work is new Jag Dyami Brown. Brown started the year hot with eight catches for 109 yards and a touchdown in his first two games of the year.
Brown missed Week 4 with a shoulder injury but has had multiple catches in each of his games this season.
It looks like Washington is slightly ahead of him for targets and workload at this point, but Brown brings a little bit more big-play ability and a more established track record.
The Bottom Line
With Hunter out, the Jags receiving corps all get a huge boost coming into this week’s matchup. Thomas has WR1 upside and Washington and Brown can both be used as flex plays in standard leeagues. Of the two, I’d lean slightly towards Washington.
In one-week DFS contests like the NFL $2.75M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st], all three receivers make sense to target at their respective salaries. Thomas is at $6,200 and has one of the best matchups of the top receivers, giving him elite upside while Washington is at $3,700 and Brown is at $3,800. Both have incredible fantasy football sleeper potential and represent some of the best value plays on the board. If Thomas is out as well, Washington would become almost a must play against the Raiders while Brown would also be a bargain worth considering for DFS in Week 9.
