When Marvin Jones Jr. signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a free agent, he was widely considered to be a veteran presence in a youthful wide receiver room. As it turns out, he wasn’t given enough respect — especially by the fantasy football community. Jones is currently the WR22 in half-PPR scoring and is vastly outperforming his ADP of WR52. The only question remaining is whether his hot start will continue on Thursday Night Football against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.
Marvin Jones’ role in the Jaguars’ offense
Jones has been on a tear to start the season. He’s leading the Jaguars in targets (28), receptions (17), receiving yards (194), and is tied for the team lead in receiving touchdowns (2). Jones is lining up almost exclusively on the outside, being split to both sides of the formation almost evenly. Not only that, but he’s been on the field for 91% of Jacksonville’s offensive plays.
Trevor Lawrence has had a shaky start to his pro career, but that hasn’t stopped him from airing it out. Despite having only completed 54.2% of his passes through the first three weeks, Lawrence is throwing the ball often. With the Jaguars frequently expected to be in negative game scripts this season, his passing volume will continue to be there.
Jones should hold value all season
As an outside receiver playing 91% of his snaps in what should be a pass-heavy offense, Jones shouldn’t cool off any time soon. Jones and DJ Chark have been lining up outside and seeing varied deep routes, while Laviska Shenault has been working out of the slot and primarily running underneath.
Shenault is seeing 18.4% of the team’s targets, while only accounting for 9.1% of Jacksonville’s air yards. Meanwhile, Jones has been responsible for 31.3% of the team’s air yards. I’ll take the guy that’s seeing more targets with more yardage attached, thanks.
The Bengals are vulnerable to the pass
At first glance, Cincinnati’s defense doesn’t stand out as a great matchup for Jones. Through three games, the Bengals are giving up the 14th-fewest fantasy points to the wide receiver position.
However, in one of those three matchups, they allowed Kirk Cousins to throw for 351 yards and 2 TDs. Another game was against the Pittsburgh Steelers, with Ben Roethlisberger throwing for 318 yards and a touchdown.
The only game keeping the Bengals in the middle of the pack defensively was against the Chicago Bears, whose putrid offense hasn’t been able to do anything this year. The Andy Dalton/Justin Fields combo completed only 15 of 24 pass attempts for 116 yards and 1 TD against Cincinnati. If you throw out that contest, the Bengals have looked like a defense you can attack through the air.
Should you start Jones in Week 4?
Jones is a viable flex play in Week 4. However, remember, don’t put any Thursday Night Football players in your flex spot. Move him to your WR2 position and keep your FLEXibility — see what I did there? — in case of injuries to other players before Sunday.
Jones should see plenty of work again on Thursday Night Football and is locked in as a flex value with WR2 upside. Make sure he’s in your lineup.