I think we all have players we tend to draft year after year -- not top guys, but medium guys who we'll select a round or two earlier than necessary just to make sure we secure them. For me, one of those players is Marvin Jones. I think I'll be drafting him again this year.
Jones signed with Jacksonville in the offseason, which to me suggests he didn't draw a lot of interest. (Entering free agency he said he wanted to sign with a contender, and the Jaguars went 1-15 last year.) The Jaguars have a new coaching staff and quarterback, and some depth at the skill positions, most notably running back but also wide receiver, where DJ Chark and Laviska Shenault figure to be the other 2 top options.
But Chark has just undergone surgery for a "minor break" on his hand. The Jaguars expect him to be ready for Week 1 (or that's what they're saying, anyway), but safe to assume we won't see him in the preseason. So Jones will likely be Trevor Lawrence's No. 1 at practices and whatever exhibition work the starters participate in this month, giving him the chance to also open the season as the go-to pass catcher.
Jones flashed some potential early in his career with Cincinnati, but didn't show enough that they kept him around on a second contract. He moved on to Detroit, and after a solid 2016 really broke out in 2017 -- 1,101 yards and 9 touchdowns.
He's gone on to be pretty good ever since. In the last four years (2017-2020), he's averaged over 14 fantasy points (PPR) per game. Among wide receivers who started at least half the time over the last four years, only 21 have been better than Jones. In terms of scoring, he's been even better, with 32 TDs in 54 games -- 9, 9, 9 and 5 in those seasons. Only six wideouts have been better in that time.
| WIDE RECEIVERS PER GAME, 2017-2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | No | Yds | TD | PPR |
| Davante Adams | 55 | 7.0 | 84.4 | .85 | 20.5 |
| Tyreek Hill | 58 | 5.3 | 82.7 | .79 | 18.9 |
| Antonio Brown | 38 | 6.7 | 88.7 | .77 | 20.2 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 62 | 6.9 | 89.1 | .61 | 19.5 |
| Adam Thielen | 57 | 5.4 | 70.0 | .61 | 16.2 |
| Calvin Ridley | 44 | 4.9 | 69.6 | .61 | 15.7 |
| Marvin Jones | 54 | 4.3 | 62.3 | .59 | 14.1 |
| Mike Evans | 60 | 4.9 | 78.1 | .59 | 16.3 |
| Chris Godwin | 43 | 5.0 | 73.8 | .57 | 15.9 |
| Will Fuller | 39 | 4.2 | 63.5 | .56 | 13.9 |
| DK Metcalf | 32 | 4.4 | 68.8 | .54 | 14.6 |
| Stefon Diggs | 60 | 5.9 | 75.6 | .52 | 16.9 |
| Alshon Jeffery | 43 | 4.0 | 51.8 | .51 | 12.2 |
| Tyler Lockett | 64 | 4.4 | 56.7 | .49 | 13.2 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | 58 | 5.3 | 64.2 | .48 | 14.6 |
| Odell Beckham | 39 | 5.1 | 69.4 | .45 | 15.2 |
| Amari Cooper | 61 | 4.8 | 65.4 | .45 | 14.1 |
| Kenny Golladay | 47 | 3.9 | 65.3 | .45 | 13.1 |
| Keenan Allen | 62 | 6.5 | 77.1 | .45 | 17.0 |
| Cooper Kupp | 54 | 5.3 | 66.1 | .44 | 14.7 |
| Michael Thomas | 55 | 7.6 | 87.5 | .42 | 18.8 |
| Nelson Agholor | 56 | 3.7 | 48.0 | .42 | 11.1 |
| TreQuan Smith | 35 | 2.2 | 30.9 | .40 | 7.7 |
| Mike Williams | 46 | 3.0 | 52.6 | .40 | 10.8 |
| Jarvis Landry | 63 | 5.5 | 63.1 | .40 | 14.4 |
| A.J. Green | 41 | 4.1 | 56.0 | .39 | 12.0 |
| Robert Woods | 59 | 5.5 | 69.0 | .39 | 15.4 |
| Kenny Stills | 44 | 3.1 | 44.6 | .39 | 9.8 |
| Julian Edelman | 34 | 5.7 | 67.1 | .38 | 15.3 |
| T.Y. Hilton | 55 | 4.3 | 63.6 | .37 | 12.8 |
| Allen Robinson | 46 | 5.6 | 68.9 | .37 | 14.7 |
| Julio Jones | 56 | 6.3 | 94.4 | .36 | 17.9 |
| Tyler Boyd | 45 | 5.4 | 64.8 | .36 | 14.2 |
| John Brown | 50 | 3.4 | 50.6 | .35 | 10.6 |
| Brandin Cooks | 61 | 4.4 | 65.9 | .35 | 13.3 |
| Robby Anderson | 62 | 4.2 | 57.5 | .35 | 12.1 |
| Jamison Crowder | 52 | 4.5 | 52.1 | .34 | 11.9 |
| Sammy Watkins | 49 | 3.4 | 45.0 | .33 | 10.1 |
| Emmanuel Sanders | 55 | 4.5 | 54.9 | .33 | 12.1 |
| Golden Tate | 54 | 4.6 | 53.0 | .33 | 12.0 |
| Tyrell Williams | 46 | 2.7 | 44.2 | .33 | 9.1 |
| Michael Gallup | 41 | 3.7 | 57.9 | .33 | 11.5 |
| DeSean Jackson | 34 | 3.4 | 54.0 | .32 | 10.9 |
| Christian Kirk | 39 | 4.1 | 49.2 | .32 | 11.2 |
| Curtis Samuel | 46 | 3.7 | 41.5 | .30 | 10.6 |
| Courtland Sutton | 33 | 3.5 | 57.0 | .30 | 11.1 |
| Paul Richardson | 33 | 2.8 | 36.7 | .30 | 8.3 |
| Cole Beasley | 61 | 4.1 | 44.8 | .30 | 10.4 |
| Larry Fitzgerald | 61 | 5.0 | 50.9 | .30 | 11.9 |
None of us really know what Urban Meyer's offense is going to look like, or how Trevor Lawrence will play as a rookie. But the Chark injury makes it look more likely that Jones will open the season as the de facto No. 1. A guy I'll be interested in drafting, once again.
--Andy Richardson