Fantasy Friday: What to Expect from Jaguars K Brandon McManus and the Defense in Fantasy Football

This is the fifth and final installment of Fantasy Friday, a series of weekly blogs diving into the fantasy football projections and value assessment for all the Jacksonville Jaguars fantasy-relevant players. To see last week’s assessment on the tight ends. More specifically, Evan Engram's and Brenton Strange's value in Fantasy Football terms. Youu can read that here.

Now, time for some Defense and Kicker love:

Projections for Brandon McManus and the Jaguars Defense

Brandon McManus

Brandon McManus takes over the reins for Riley Patterson. While the former has a stronger leg than the latter, which should lead to more attempts of 50+ yards, the general philosophy for kickers in fantasy football is to target kickers on high-scoring teams.

Through the first eight weeks (until the Bye), the Jaguars are expected to score 23 points, the eighth most in the league. Outside of the top few kickers (Justin Tucker, Harrison Butker, and Evan McPherson), I see no reason not to take McManus as your kicker.

Recommendation: Sure!

Jaguars Defense/Special Teams

For defenses, unless you have an elite defense (Eagles, Patriots, etc.), I tend to just play matchups. While the Jaguars open against the Indianapolis Colts, who have the sixth lowest point projection in Week 1, they then host the Kansas Chiefs in Week 2. Unless you plan to play the Jags in the opener and then drop them, it is just not worth it.

The Jaguars do play Weeks 16 and 17 (Fantasy Football playoff games) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers, two offenses that are expected to struggle. If these teams are struggling and the Jaguars are still competing, it may be worth looking to pick them up a few weeks ahead of this (they will likely be on waivers after Week 13 against the Cincinnati Bengals).

Recommendation: No thank you, but take a look at the end of the year.

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