Week 12 wasn’t devastating on the injury front, but it wasn’t exactly good, either. A handful of fantasy-relevant players went down. As a result, replacements may be necessary. How much of a priority is Jacksonville Jaguars WR Zay Jones for fantasy football managers to add off the waiver wire ahead of Week 13?
Zay Jones Remains on Too Many Waiver Wires
The saga of Jones is a fascinating one. He established very early in the season that he had utility in fantasy football. Jones isn’t the most valuable asset, but he’s a useful player. However, despite several useful weeks, fantasy managers don’t seem to want to take him seriously.
Jones has scored at least 9.2 PPR fantasy points in seven of his 10 games played. This past week, he posted his second elite WR1 performance of the season. The mere fact he has that in him makes him someone that should at least be on the fantasy radar. Yet, somehow, Jones is still out there in 75% of Yahoo leagues.
Against the Ravens, Jones caught 11 of 14 targets for 145 yards and the game-winning two-point conversion. If you took his receiving yards higher on Underdog Fantasy, kudos to you.
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The 14 targets marked a career high. The only real knock on Jones is he’s not scoring touchdowns — with just one all season. Fortunately, he’s displayed a high enough floor to warrant being on more fantasy rosters.
The Jaguars’ next two games are against the Lions and Titans. Both of those teams do not possess quality pass defenses, but they have good offenses. Trevor Lawrence would very well find himself in a position where he has to throw a ton. Those are the game environments that benefit Jones.
How Aggressively Should Fantasy Managers Pursue Jones Off the Waiver Wire?
Jones is a strange one because he’s not really a difference-maker. I would not recommend prioritizing him over a potential RB2 like Zonovan Knight or a high-upside wide receiver such as Treylon Burks.
At the same time, only one team can claim those guys. While most other teams are focusing on the top names, Jones could fly under the radar, much like he’s done all season.
With each successive week, FAAB becomes less and less valuable because anyone you pick up is spending fewer and fewer weeks on your roster. There are just two weeks remaining in the fantasy regular season.
If you need a wide receiver or someone to use in your Flex, Jones is quite serviceable. With that said, he’s still not worth breaking the bank for.
This late in the season, most teams are down to very little FAAB remaining. Jones should not be your last stand. But that doesn’t mean you can’t bid enough to get him; 8-12% should do the trick. And if it doesn’t, so be it.
If you play in a league that still uses the continual rolling list waiver priority system, I would not burn a top priority on Jones.