Jacksonville

Jaguars

Jones will miss his second straight game with a knee issue. Without Jones last week, Christian Kirk led the team in pass routes and caught four of six targets for 54 yards. Evan Engram also saw a bump in routes and led the Jags with eight targets. Both players get a small boost with Jones sidelined against Atlanta.

Jones missed multiple practices last week and was inactive for Sunday’s game against the Texans. He has a few more chances to get on the practice field before we start to worry about his chances of playing on Sunday, but if he were to miss time that would mean even more targets for Christian Kirk and Calvin Ridley. LB Devin Lloyd was the only other Jaguars player to miss practice.

The Jacksonville offense, after another lousy first half against the Texans, came out firing in the second half, scoring on three of their first four possessions. That sparked speculation that Pederson had taken play calling duties away from offensive coordinator Press Taylor. “I communicated with Press and the offensive staff, you know, no more or less than I usually do,” Pederson said. “I think grabbing their attention at halftime and just letting them know that the first 30 minutes was unacceptable. It’s not up to what our standards are and our expectations, including my expectations for this football team.” If the Jaguars offense continues to struggle — they’re 29th in EPA per play — look for Pederson to get more involved with the direction of the unit.

Agnew saw increased usage with Zay Jones out, reeling in four receptions. He fumbled on a crucial late-second quarter drive in Houston territory, which led to a Texans field goal the other way. Even if Jones remains out, Agnew is nothing more than a deep flex play in Week 4 against the Falcons.

As Trevor Lawrence’s most-targeted player for Week 3, Engram caught seven passes for 67 yards. He saw several short-yardage looks, especially in the second half when Jacksonville tried to get its offense going. Engram has an solid, established role in the Jaguars offense that gives him the volume to stay afloat for fantasy purposes. He has TE1-upside entering a Week 4 London matchup against the Falcons.

Kirk came back down to earth after an 11-catch Week 2, but was still the third-most targeted pass-catcher on the team. Taking advantage of Zay Jones’ absence, Kirk scored a fourth quarter touchdown, though it wasn’t enough to bring the Jaguars back. As long as Jones is out, Kirk will be the Jaguars’ WR2, but the team’s offense will need to get in sync for more consistent fantasy performances. Kirk has WR3-upside in a Week 4 matchup against the Falcons.

Ridley saw the second-most targets among Jaguars pass-catchers, but converted it into just 40 receiving yards. He dropped a near-touchdown in the first quarter and dropped another pass in the second quarter, taking big hits on both plays. Ridley continued to play, but also took multiple false-start penalties. The good news is that Trevor Lawrence looked for Ridley often, but the offense will need to get back in sync for a Week 4 matchup against the Falcons, where Ridley has back-end WR2 upside.

Bigsby continues to see low-volume touches in the Jaguars offense behind Travis Etienne. However, the rookie did see a goal-line carry that he converted into a touchdown. It is worth monitoring Bigsby’s goal-line usage, but he is still strictly a handcuff for Etienne moving forward.

Etienne saw high usage against the Texans this week, getting 19 of 24 running back carries. He also earned the third-most targets on the team from Trevor Lawrence. Tank Bigsby vultured a goal-line touchdown from him, though Etienne did see more red-zone looks than Bigbsy. He left in the fourth quarter with an apparent leg injury, but was able to walk off under his own power. D’Ernest Johnson took carries after his exit. Etienne’s usage is encouraging and puts him on borderline-RB1 status for Week 4 against the Falcons.

Lawrence struggled to connect with his receivers, especially Calvin Ridley, in Week 3. The Jaguars did not score until the second half and Lawrence threw a touchdown to Christian Kirk in the fourth quarter. He also threw a late interception that sealed the Jaguars’ loss. A Zay Jones return would boost Lawrence, but multiple drops from Jacksonville’s receivers did not help this week. Lawrence will look to rebound in a Week 4 London showdown against the Falcons.