Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, December 11th, 1:00 PM ET
Location: Nissan Stadium, Nashville
Betting Odds: NE -4.0 / 41.0 total via PFF.com
Network: CBS
Writer: Estevão Maximo. (@estevao_maximo on Twitter)
Tennessee Titans
Quarterback
Ryan Tannehill (Sit)
There are many aspects to tackle about the recent firing of the Titans GM, but a few things are true. This is an intriguing roster, they have a very well-regarded head coach, and finished with the best record in the AFC last year. With all of that being said, there is a clear ceiling with Tannehill as your signal-caller, and Tennesee has hit it multiple times.
Treylon Burks looks like a real weapon, but it’s hard for him to get going in this passing attack. Look at what AJ Brown is doing in Philly. Tannehill is ok, but there is a reason why we aren’t looking at him as a reliable fantasy option here, especially so, given his limited mobility since returning from injury, which has affected his game somewhat.
Running Backs
Derrick Henry (Start, RB1)
Henry is a volume rusher, and over the last few weeks, that volume hasn’t been there, as the Titans lead back has averaged fewer than three yards per carry since Week 10. Even in that timespan, King Henry has put up two pretty solid games, thanks in large part to an insane screen catch and run against the Bengals that would’ve ended on a TD had it not been for a fumble near the end zone, leading the ball into the arms of Burks.
There isn’t much to be said, particularly last week, Henry struggled, the Titans got on negative game script, and his day was kind of doomed, in a 35-10 blowout loss to the Eagles. This phenomenon shouldn’t repeat itself too much, especially not at home against the Jaguars, and there is very little doubt the Titans want to, and will feed their running back.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Robert Woods (Sit), Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (Sit), Austin Hooper (Start TE2), Chigoziem Okonkwo (Start, TE2)
Post Tua incident, the NFL has been more cautious with concussion cases, and looking at the play Burks was involved in last week, you should plan for him missing at least one game. Beyond him, this Titans’ receiving group is just something to avoid completely. Over lack of options, you can resort to flexing Woods or Westbrook-Ikhine out of desperation, but frankly, you’d probably be better off looking for other streaming options.
The better streamers are actually the two tight ends, Hooper and Okonkwo, both of who have been getting somewhat consistent work over the past five weeks or so. Although tight ends take a while longer than most positions to settle into the league, Okonkwo has flashed the ability to produce some explosive plays. In fact, from Weeks 9 through 11, he had exactly one catch every game for 48, 41, and 31 yards respectively. He’s also been targeted five times in each of his last two games.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Quarterbacks
Trevor Lawrence (Start, QB1)
Lawrence is completing 65 percent of his passes, has a rating above 90, and a 17-6 touchdown to interception rate. He is not lighting the world on fire, but after installing a trojan horse in this organization before the start of his rookie year, Jags’ ownership and front office should be happy with the progress he’s making. Unlike what we’ve been led to believe in recent times, ups and downs are normal.
This Jags team went from beating the Ravens in glorious fashion with a two-point conversion in the final minutes to getting manhandled by the Detroit Lions, who are better than their record says by the way.
Lawrence hasn’t thrown a pick in four games, and has actually shown off some of that athleticism after running for a mere 29 yards over the first four games of the season. The former number one overall pick is a high-end QB2 on most weeks, but going against the massive pass-funnel defense that is the Titans (second fewest yards per carry, and the most points allowed to opposing quarterbacks), we’ll roll with Lawrence as a QB1 in this game.
Running Backs
Travis Etienne (Start, RB2)
Etienne is an RB1 in dynasty and has shown tremendous potential. This ranking isn’t directly affected by the foot injury that kept him out late in the game, even if just for precaution against the Ravens. After all, he played 88% of the snaps against the Lions last week, but to our surprise, Etienne hasn’t been the PPR-merch we envisioned, instead doing the bulk of his damage on the ground.
The former Clemson back has topped out at three receptions on the year, and it’s not like he’s wasting targets or anything. He has 34 of them over 11 games, not even accounting for the game versus the Ravens. He simply hasn’t been the big factor in the passing game, and it’s not like those targets are going elsewhere in this backfield, Hasty did have 5 catches on 5 targets for 67 yards and a score, replacing Etienne against the Ravens, but that’s literally it.
In a tough environment against this Titans’ rush D, we’ll bump Etienne down to a high-end RB2, but you should still feel fine playing him, just don’t expect a top-line performance.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Christian Kirk (Start, WR2), Zay Jones (WR3), Marvin Jones (Sit), Jamal Agnew (Sit), Evan Engram (Start TE1)
What if I were to tell you that Zay Jones has more games with double-digit targets than Christian Kirk (4 to 3). Both of them are great plays this week against this Titans’ D. Yes, this isn’t AJ Brown, Devonta Smith, and that Eagles’ offense, but on another note, did you see what they did last week?
You look up and Kirk is the WR10 on the year with two games over 100 yards in his last three, facing a Titans defense that invites you to pass the ball. You should feel excellent about having him as a WR3. Tennessee allows the most points to opposing wide receivers in the entire league.
Look beyond the single touchdown of Zay Jones on the year, and see that even in a bad game last week at Detroit, he still got seven targets from Lawrence, and has been one of the poster boys for OPPO, finally breaking out with a huge game against the Ravens, catching 11 balls for 135 yards.
Evan Engram is the last one to get in on the fun, as the pro-bowl tight end was the one to salvage his day last week against the Lions, with five receptions and a score. The TE14 on the year gets a small boost as a low-end TE1, in a game the Jags will likely air it out.