When the fantasy football playoffs start on Sunday, it’s unclear whether or not New York Jets WR Jamison Crowder will play after sustaining a late-week injury. In Week 14, you need to balance risk vs. reward in order to progress to the next round. Will Jamison Crowder play, and if not, is there anyone on the Jets who gets increased value?
Sunday, December 13th: Jamison Crowder is active for the New York Jets Week 14 matchup.
WR Jamison Crowder is questionable to play on Sunday against the Seahawks due to a late-week calf injury
After finally getting all three of their starting wide receivers on the field the past few weeks, the Jets could be down two of their top wideouts Sunday in Seattle.
According to Rich Cimini of ESPN, WR Jamison Crowder did not practice on Friday after he injured his calf on Thursday. He is listed as questionable against the Seahawks, but not practicing on Friday doesn’t instill confidence that Jamison Crowder will play.
“We’re going to be evaluating Crowder at the beginning of practice with a calf, he would be questionable at the moment, so his game status really could be up in the air,” Jets head coach Adam Gase said in a Zoom call on Friday morning.
WR Denzel Mims will not play on Sunday
The one player we know that won’t suit up is rookie Denzel Mims. He is tending to a family emergency in his home state of Texas. Due to his time away from the team, Mims has missed his required testing. Under the NFL’s protocols, Mims is not eligible to play against the Seattle Seahawks.
Under the protocols, Mims needed to be tested at the team facility by 10 PM Wednesday. He is still out of town, according to coach Adam Gase.
“He’s been a big reason why we’ve had some better games since he’s been playing. The protocols are what they are. He had to handle family business, which we support because we felt like it was the right thing for him to do.”
Since returning from a hamstring injury, Denzel Mims had 19 receptions for 324 yards.
He is a buy-low for those in dynasty as you are likely getting Trevor Lawrence’s number one option. But that is s conversation for a different time.
Jamison Crowder was the lone bright spot on a struggling Jets team
When your team is 0-12, like the Jets are, it’s not surprising to see a lack of production. However, even that hasn’t been consistent.
Crowder opened up the season with a massive 13 target performance. He caught seven passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, a hamstring injury cost him the next two games. Once back on the field in Week 4, Jamison Crowder was a must-start in fantasy.
From Week 4 through Week 6, Crowder was the WR8 in PPR and was peppered with targets. He saw 33 targets, which were the second-most during this stretch. Crowder turned them into 22 receptions for 268 yards and one touchdown.
A groin injury cost him the next two weeks. Having QB Joe Flacco also did him no favors.
Since that time, Jamison Crowder has been the WR78. He has 11 receptions on 18 targets for 120 yards and three touchdowns in the last four games. It’s worth noting that two of those touchdowns came in their last game. Crowder’s finishes during this stretch are WR44, WR87, WR67, and WR8.
Despite these recent struggles missing games, Jamison Crowder is still the best wide receiver this season for the Jets. He leads the team in targets (64), receptions (40), yards (503), and touchdowns (5).
Even if Crowder plays, the Jets are a bad football team
I know, what a shocking statement. I am sure this is the first time you have heard this.
They are 32nd in points per game (15), yards (276.83), yards per play (4.7), first downs per game (16.75), percentage of scoring drives (26.4%), red zone percentage (42.9%), red zone attempts (28), plays per game (60), yards per drive (25.5), and points expected by the passing offense at -53.97.
The Jets are fourth in penalties (78) and yards from penalties (753).
They are 31st in third-down conversion (32.9%), plays per drive (5.6), and time of possession per drive (2:29).
This is just the offense. I can talk about the defense if you want, but it’s more of the same.
If the Jets are out both Mims and Jamison Crowder with his calf injury, how much risk are you willing to take on just for the boost in snaps?
If Jamison Crowder misses Week 14 due to injury, Breshad Perriman & Braxton Berrios get a boost
Addition by subtraction. Losing both Jamison Crowder and Denzel Mims opens up 40% of the Jets’ targets on the year (100).
Perriman should see his targets rise against the Seahawks, who have been beatable on the outside all season. Before his dismal performance against the Raiders, Perriman had put three solid games together. From Weeks 9 through 12, Perriman had 11 receptions on 19 targets for 234 yards and three touchdowns. Now expected to be the featured WR, there is some sneaky upside if we know that Jamison Crowder will not play on in Week 14. The Jets have a 4:05 PM ET kickoff, so they will announce inactives at 2:35 PM.
Another option for deeper leagues is WR Braxton Berrios. He only has two touchdowns on the season, but they both came in Week 2 and 3 when Crowder was out with his groin injury. During that time, his snap percentage was 71% and 80%. I expect him to be much closer to this than the 5.3% average he had seen the last three weeks when all three wide receivers had been healthy. As I said, this is a deeper league option or a low-percentage DFS play.
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Tommy Garrett is a writer for PFN covering Fantasy Football. You can read more of his work here and follow him at @TommygarrettPFN on Twitter.