What We Saw: Week 5

Jacksonville Jaguars vs Carolina Panthers

 

Jacksonville Jaguars

 

Quarterback

 

• Gardner Minshew: 26/44 374 yards, 2 TDs | 7 carries, 42 yards

 

Gardner Minshew had a great day against a stout Panthers defense.  Minshew has been a solid QB2 for fantasy owners while he has been a starter and should continue to be fired up in QB2 leagues. He hasn’t taken many sacks and has been completing a high percentage of passes in his four full starts. Minshew targets his top receivers in Chark and Westbrook a lot, 22 of 44 targets this week. 

 

Running Backs

 

• Leonard Fournette: 23 carries, 108 yards, 1 TD | 7 targets, 4 receptions, 29 yards

 

Leonard Fournette is getting RB1 usage without a doubt. This is his second straight game with over 100 yards rushing and he finally scored a touchdown this week. With at least 19 touches in every game this season and six targets in four of five games, Fournette is getting top-five running back volume so far this season. 

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends

 

• DJ Chark: 11 targets, 8 receptions, 164, 2 touchdowns
• Dede Westbrook: 11 targets, 7 receptions, 82 yards
• Chris Conley: 3 targets, 1 reception, 26 yards
• James O’Shaugnessy: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 57 yards

 

In a game where Minshew had to throw the ball 44 times, the Jaguars top-two receivers had 22 targets, 246 yards, and a touchdown. Both Dede Westbrook and DJ Chark had fantasy-relevant games and should be on fantasy rosters everywhere. Chark came into week five as the WR10 and had a blow-up game against the Panthers. Chark is a WR2 going forward and Westbrook is in the WR3/flex discussion as of now. Chris Conley, with 10 targets the last three games, is clearly behind Fournette and the top-two receivers for targets right now. James O’Shaugnessy came week five as the TE15 in PPR formats; he had a solid week and will continue to be in the high TE2 range going forward.

 

Carolina Panthers

 

Quarterback

 

• Kyle Allen: 17/30, 181 yards, 1 TD | 1 carry, 4 yards

 

Kyle Allen hasn’t done much in his first two starts as Carolina’s starting quarterback. He is actually 3-0 as a starter but has one fantasy top-10 QB ranking in his three starts so far. He was the QB31 in week four and will be a bottom 20 quarterback in week five. Allen is a matchup-dependent QB2 right now and will have a plus week six against the Buccaneers as long as Cam Newton remains out.

 

Running Backs

 

• Christian McCaffrey: 19 carries, 176 yards, 2 TDs | 9 targets, 6 receptions, 61 yards, 1 TD

 

What can we say about Christian McCaffrey at this point? He is the best fantasy running back and dominates every week, no matter the matchup. He has 27, 37, and 25 touches in the last three games without Cam Newton at quarterback. He has been the top RB over that span and the offense will continue to run through him until Newton is back and healthy. McCaffrey might have gotten a touch shaken up as his backup had five carries and a target, which is the most volume Reggie Bonnafon has had this year. It is encouraging McCaffrey came back in and had touches on the final drive of the game. Continue to view McCaffrey as a premier RB1 play. 

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends

 

• DJ Moore: 9 targets, 6 receptions, 91 yards
• Curtis Samuel: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 19 yards | 2 carries, 25 yards
• Greg Olsen: no receptions, 2 targets

 

DJ Moore only had seven targets in Allen’s first two starts but had nine in this game and converted them to six receptions and 91 yards. As long as Cam Newton is out, Moore can’t be trusted as more than a WR3/flex option with his variable targets. Curtis Samuel has had 20 targets in the three Allen starts which is encouraging. He has parlayed that into sub WR3 numbers. He can’t be trusted as more than a WR3/flex while Allen is the starter. Greg Olsen has 13 targets in the three games with Allen under center. In his non-Arizona matchups, Olsen has two receptions, five yards, and six targets. Until Newton comes back, Olsen is a streaming TE1. 

 

–Kevin Taylor (@ktbeast918)