The Bengals against the Jaguars would have been a preview of the AFC playoffs if Joe Burrow wasn’t injured. But it now looks like the Jaguars could sleepwalk past the Bengals offensive line and sack Jake Browning. You had better pick a DraftKings DFS team to keep it interesting then.
DraftKings DFS bargains for Monday Night Football
The “They Should Use Him More” DraftKings DFS Pick – Luke Farrell
Farrell’s usage has been somewhat spotty, to say the least, but the Jags seem to have bought him into the fold more in the last two weeks. He’s a bargain because he’ll be cheaper than Evan Engram, who still hasn’t caught a touchdown pass in 2023. And Engram’s on pace to see his most targets in a single season. So maybe the Jags need to adapt their red zone offense a little?
Farrell has seen 7 targets and caught 5 of them in his last 2 games. And he’s averaging 15.2 yards per reception over those games. So, there’s no reason for the Jaguars not to pass to him. Especially as the Bengals’ defense is ranked 31st against tight ends, they are allowing 16.1 DraftKings DFS points. Only the Broncos allow more!
The Pass Catching Running Back DraftKings DFS Pick – D’Ernest Johnson
Johnson is another player who the Jaguars seem happy to include more in recent games. He only had 14 carries in the first 9 games of the season. He’s had 14 carries in the last two games. Johnson also caught 3 passes in those games, that’s as many as he had in the first 8 games.
He’s been particularly productive in the passing game; Johnson is averaging 17 yards per reception! He is only averaging 3.3 yards per carry, but overall, he’s averaging 7.8 yards per touch since his involvement has increased. The Bengals are allowing running backs to score 22.5 points per game in 2023 too and the Jaguars should make the most of that. They have run the ball on 44% of their snaps so far this season.
The “Second Receiving Option” Pick – Tyler Boyd
It’s impossible to know who Jake Browning feels most comfortable passing the ball to. He doesn’t have the pre-existing relationship with Ja’Marr Chase that Burrow does, but Chase is still the best receiver. One game is the smallest of sample sizes, but last week Chase did see the most targets, but he was only one ahead of Boyd and Hudson.
At 6 feet 2 inches Boyd is tall for a receiver and with Tee Higgins’ injury status seemingly changing each day he’s a viable option for a new quarterback. This week Boyd is likely to match up against Tre Herndon who is (actually having quite a good season but is) allowing 10.4 yards per completion. Herndon has also missed 11.9% of the tackles he’s been asked to make this season, so Boyd could pick up a few yards on Thursday. The Jaguars are allowing the ninth-highest number of points to wide receivers in DraftKings DFS games this season. Their average of 38.6 per game is 9.8 lower than the highest average.
The Trending Upward DraftKings DFS Pick – Tanner Hudson
Hudson saw 5 targets last week, the same number as Boyd. Hudson is on his fourth team in five seasons, but the Bengals appear to have found out how to maximize his skill set. A college quarterback (and kicker and punter in high school) he converted to tight end at Southern Arkansas after a brief stint as a receiver.
In his last 3 games, he’s seen 16 targets and caught 14 of them. He’s averaging 8.8 yards per reception this season, which might not sound much but it’s the fifth-best of any Bengal. The Jaguars are allowing 12.2 yards per reception where tight ends are concerned and that equates to 12.7 DraftKings DFS points per game. If Browning passes to him Hudson should score decent points.
The Obvious Pick – Jaguars D/ST
Having said all that, the Jaguars defense seems to have found some pass rush lately and the Bengals offensive line seems very porous. Not content with getting Joe Burrow squished, the Bengals blockers have set their sights on getting Jake Browning pummeled too. He was sacked four times by the Steelers last week. T.J. Watt only recorded two Steelers’ sacks.
For their part, the Jaguars defensive front sacked C.J. Stroud 4 times last week too. Josh Allen got 2.5 of them. Stroud still threw for 304 yards though. And he rushed for 47 yards and a touchdown. Jake Browning is no C.J. Stroud though. The Jaguars D/ST might be a bit expensive, but when they’re good they’re really good. They average 7.6 DraftKings DFS points per game, but they have scored more than 10 points four times this season.
Main Photo: [Joseph Maiorana] – USA Today Sports
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