As we inch toward the new season, the ever-changing NFL landscape has player fantasy values constantly on the move. Whether you’re used to the dynasty platform or are still learning the rules, let’s dive into the latest dynasty fantasy football value of Christian Kirk.
Christian Kirk’s Dynasty Outlook and Value
The Jaguars entered the 2022 season in desperate need of a wide receiver. They had a lot of problems in 2021, and chief among them was their weak WR room.
Enter Christian Kirk, who has now become a meme in the NFL world after his otherworldly four-year, $72 million contract. I like Kirk. He’s a very nice receiver. But that’s elite WR1 money for a guy who hadn’t done much to warrant it.
With that said, Kirk did his best to live up to his lofty contract in his inaugural season. He operated as Jacksonville’s clear WR1 and Lawrence’s favorite target. Kirk caught 84 of 133 targets for 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns — all career highs.
MORE: Top Wide Receiver Dynasty Rankings
Kirk genuinely made a difference for Trevor Lawrence, providing this offense with a true WR1, even though Kirk’s talent profile suggests he’s more of a WR2.
Kirk averaged 14.2 ppg, finishing as the overall WR18. This was obviously a win for fantasy managers who invested in him. However, I can’t help but think this will go down as his best season.
Kirk’s 23.2% target share was 23rd in the league. He was targeted on 25.7% of his routes run, also 23rd in the league. But Kirk had a very low 9.4 average depth of target (70th). These are strong underlying metrics but also more indicative that Kirk is best suited for the WR2 role.
Going forward, Kirk may very well be the WR2. We will cover the team’s potential new WR1 in more detail later, but suffice it to say if Calvin Ridley is still the guy we saw in Atlanta, he will be the WR1.
Christian Kirk’s Fantasy Ranking
Kirk’s dynasty value is an interesting spot right now. He’s only 26 years old and tethered to an ascending young quarterback on an improving offense for at least the next three years. Lawrence can undoubtedly support at least two fantasy-relevant wide receivers. So, Ridley’s arrival is not going to vaporize Kirk’s fantasy value.
It does, however, remove any realistic hope of Kirk being more than a mid WR2. I would consider him more of a high WR3 going forward. We have Kirk at WR33 (No. 83 overall) in our dynasty Superflex rankings.
His value is difficult to pin down with a blanket statement, as it will vary from league to league and manager to manager based on how much each feels Ridley negatively impacts Kirk. That could make Kirk overvalued in some leagues and undervalued in others.
Regardless, Kirk is poised to be a fantasy starter for at least the next three years. He’s a useful member of any fantasy roster. If you’re looking at Kirk in dynasty startup drafts and get a Ridley discount, feel free to gobble him up.