The Jacksonville Jaguars had two wide receivers go down with injuries in Week 9, losing both Brian Thomas Jr. and Dyami Brown during their overtime win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Less than 48 hours later, the Jaguars have poached the Raiders’ top wideout in a blockbuster trade, adding veteran Jakobi Meyers in exchange for a fourth-round pick and a sixth-round pick. Parker Washington was starting to break out in recent weeks, as well, giving quarterback Trevor Lawrence another receiver to feed in spite of the injury issues.
Washington was going to be one of the most interesting names on the fantasy football waiver wire heading into Week 10, considering he is owned in just 5.1% of ESPN leagues and of 18% Yahoo leagues. Is the third-year receiver still worth adding even after the Jags went out and added Meyers?
Parker Washington Fantasy Value
Washington is fresh off a career-best performance, having gone for 90 yards on eight receptions and nine targets against the Raiders. Prior to the Jaguars’ Week 8 bye, Washington posted another decent outing with four catches and 52 yards on 10 targets.
On the whole this season, Washington is averaging 8.5 PPR fantasy points per game. Taking out his goose egg in Week 1, though, that average goes up to 9.7. He is averaging 13.6 PPR fantasy points since Week 7, which would certainly justify a waiver claim on paper. Even including all the banged up receivers in Jacksonville, Washington still leads the team in targets per route run and yards per route run.
The 23-year-old Penn State product is on pace to blow by his previous career-highs across the board, all while he enters Week 10 as WR47 in fantasy.
Jaguars WR Injury Updates
Before the Jaguars and Raiders faced off on Sunday, first round pick Travis Hunter hit the injured reserve. While the knee injury Hunter suffered in practice isn’t expected to keep him out long term, he is set to miss at least the next three weeks of action.
Thomas, on the other hand, hurt his left ankle on Sunday. He missed the end of the fourth quarter, plus all of overtime. His status moving forward is undetermined. As for Brown, he just returned from a shoulder injury only to enter concussion protocol on Sunday. The timeline for his return is up in the air, too.
Before they added Meyers, the Jaguars’ wide receiver depth chart would have been down to only Washington and Tim Patrick, had Thomas and Brown missed any time.
How does Jakobi Meyers fit with the Jaguars?
With so many injuries, it made perfect sense that Jacksonville would go out and add a wideout.
Meyers, who missed one game with knee and toe injuries in Week 7, is currently WR46 in fantasy. He is averaging 9.7 PPR fantasy points per game. The soon-to-be 29-year-old is on pace for his worst production since his rookie year with the Patriots in 2019, however, and he has been trending down since September. He has recorded 352 yards and zero touchdowns after going for 1,881 yards and 14 touchdowns across 2023 and 2024.
After posting 17.7 PPR fantasy points in Week 1, Meyers put up 12.8 in Week 2. He has yet to break double digits in his five games since, averaging 7.5 PPR fantasy points in that span. At the same time, Meyers has a steady floor, never dipping below 6.3 PPR fantasy points. He has caught four passes in four straight games, too. Even if his 11 targets per game from Weeks 1 and 2 have dipped to 5.4 from Week 3 on, he is catching 70.3% of them.
If Thomas and Brown are banged up in Week 10, Meyers and Washington have compatible enough play styles that they should be able to coexist. However, going against Derek Stingley Jr. and the Texans may limit what Washington can accomplish outside the numbers this coming Sunday. Then, once Thomas, Brown and Hunter return to full strength, there will probably be too many mouths to feed in Jacksonville.
Washington is worth a flier, but not an immediate start. Thomas, at the very least, would have to miss time in order to Washington to become a viable FLEX option. Meyers, Thomas and Hunter, if they all get to suit up alongside each other, will be fringe WR2/FLEX plays in their own right.
