A year ago, the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars played a Thursday night, and the fantasy advice was pretty simple: Stay away. The teams were bad, and they didn't have much to offer fantasy owners. This year, the teams are still more or less bad, but there are far more fantasy considerations heading into their Thursday night game.
Fantasy football advice, Week 11: Who to start/sit for Titans vs. Jaguars on Thursday night
There are actually some fantasy considerations in this game, contrary to recent seasons.
The Titans will be without wide receiver Kendall Wright Thursday for the third straight game. The team also lost wide receiver Justin Hunter for the season after he fractured his ankle in Week 10. For Jacksonville, running back T.J. Yeldon, wide receivers Allen Hurns and Bryan Walters and tight end Julius Thomas are all on the injury report. Yeldon, Hurns and Thomas all seem to be banged up every week, and all three are expected to play through their issues this week. Walters is dealing with a concussion, so he'll have to get through the league's concussion protocol in order to play.
The Titans head to Florida for Thursday’s game, with kickoff scheduled for 8:25 p.m. ET. Let’s take a look at the fantasy names to consider:
TITANS
Start 'em: The only individual player on Tennessee who excites you is Delanie Walker, and not even he is any sort of fantasy monster. Still, at tight end, he's still an easy start.
Start ‘em?: You like defenses facing Jacksonville, though the Titans’ defense hasn’t reached double digits since Week 1, so it’s no sure thing.
Sit 'em: After a huge Week 9 against New Orleans, Marcus Mariota went right back to his relative struggles in Week 10. Since Week 3, he's had three games of single-digit fantasy points, missed two games to injury and had that one monster outing. I know which one looks like an outlier. ... Antonio Andrews saw his production fall apart in Week 10. With Dexter McCluster and David Cobb both getting looks, none of the three is likely to get enough touches to be worth it. ... The team is down to Harry Douglas and Dorial Green-Beckham as its primary wide receivers, but neither has had even one double-digit fantasy game all season. ... Ryan Succop hasn't reached even 10 fantasy points in a game all season.
JAGUARS
Start 'em: The injury issues surrounding T.J. Yeldon are worrisome, though he's been banged up almost every game this season, and he's still put up six-plus fantasy points in five straight games, averaging 10.8 in that time. ... Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns have combined for 12 games of double-digit fantasy points in 16 player-games since Week 1. They're both fantasy monsters.
Start 'em?: After a nine-point Week 1, Blake Bortles has had at least 13 fantasy points in every game since, and at least 15 in every game but one. He's still got issues, but for fantasy, he's productive. ... There's still theoretical upside to Julius Thomas, but 13 of his 18 fantasy points on the season came in one game. You'd have to be really desperate. ... Jason Myers has 12 fantasy points in back-to-back games, though he struggled much more before that. ... The Jaguars' defense has averaged 11 fantasy points a game the last three games, but averaged one a game before that. It's very risk/reward.
Sit 'em: With Yeldon appearing healthy, Denard Robinson remains only a backup. ... If Hurns or Robinson were to miss a game, you might like Bryan Walters, but they just keep showing up.
SUMMARY
Start in every league: Delanie Walker, T.J. Yeldon, Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns
Start if you're desperate: Tennessee defense, Blake Bortles, Julius Thomas, Jason Myers, Jacksonville defense
Bench: Marcus Mariota, Antonio Andrews, Dexter McCluster, David Cobb, Harry Douglas, Dorial Green-Beckham, Ryan Succop, Denard Robinson, Bryan Walters
