• Travis Etienne Jr. scores twice at the start of the game: The Jaguars drove the ball down the field on two of their first three drives, each resulting in a touchdown by Etienne. However, he didn’t do much as the game progressed.
• Alvin Kamara remains a PPR king: Kamara reached double-digit earnings for the second time this season. No other running back has more than eight in a game.
• Calvin Ridley takes place at a reception: Much to the dismay of many fantasy managers, the Jaguars’ best outside receiving option played no role in this game. But that may not be a sign of things to come.
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Jacksonville Jaguars @ New Orleans Saints
- Travis Etienne Jr.: 14 carries, 53 yards, 2 touchdowns; 3 receptions, 24 receiving yards
- Alvin Kamara: 17 carries, 62 yards; 12 receptions, 91 receiving yards
Jamaal Williams returns to New Orleans: The Saints running back spent the last four weeks on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury.
- Before the injury, Williams was the clear starter in Weeks 1 and 2 as Alvin Kamara served his suspension. This was the first game Kamara and Williams played together.
- The Saints used the two interchangeably. Kamara played a few snaps and then Williams came in for a play or two.
- Williams was used as an early-down back in Detroit, primarily in short-yardage situations. He was used more in clear passing situations than in most other situations in the game.
- This meant a significant decrease in offensive snaps for Kamara. It didn’t hurt his fantasy production in this game as his target percentage was ridiculously high. If his target rate ever goes down, his fantasy value will take a hit.
- Kamara leads all running backs in receptions this season with 35. The next closest back has 26. He did this despite missing the first three weeks of the season.
- Third-round rookie Kendre Miller was demoted to RB3 on the depth chart. He only played a few snaps but didn’t get any chances with the football. He can be cut in flatter leagues.
Calvin Ridley takes place at a reception: Ridley’s playing time was the same as it had been all season, but he was not a priority in the passing game until the end of the fourth quarter.
- This may have been part of the Jaguars’ game plan since Trevor Lawrence entered the game with a knee injury.
- Lawrence’s average depth of target of 5.2 yards over three quarters was his lowest all season, while his average throw time of 2.32 seconds was below average.
- Ridley had by far the highest average depth of target among active Jaguars players entering the game at 13.3. The next closest player was Jamal Agnew at 9.7.
- Ridley led the team in targets on passes that took 2.1 seconds or longer to throw, but both Evan Engram and Christian Kirk had more targets on passes under 2.0 seconds earlier in the week. Engram had 27, Kirk 18 and Ridley 13.
- Part of the problem was that the Jaguars were playing with a lead while the Saints dominated time of possession, so the Jaguars didn’t pass much.
- He received a target in the first 55 minutes. With the game tied late in the fourth quarter, Ridley received a handoff on one play and was targeted on the following two.
- Lawrence’s injury probably contributed more to the low scoring percentage than the Saints’ cornerbacks. Marshon Lattimore hasn’t shadowed a wide receiver all season, which continued into this game.
- Ridley is likely to be a low-buy candidate. Although his play has been disappointing in some games, he should at least bounce back from this game now that Lawrence has some time to rest.
Various notes
- Derek Carr was obviously struggling with an injury in the final minutes of the game, but he continued to play through the injury. This will be something to keep an eye on next week.
- Zay Jones missed his fourth game in five weeks with a knee injury. Christian Kirk continues to take his place on the 12th staff, while Jamal Agnew was the main replacement on the 11th staff.
- Agnew left the game to be checked for a concussion, but returned shortly afterwards and played his usual role for the remainder of the game.
- Second-round rookie tight end Brenton Strange hit Luke Farrell for the first time last week, scoring his first career touchdown. This was just a one-week anomaly and not a sign of things to come as Farrell was ahead of Strange again this week.
- The Saints were without Juwan Johnson (calf) for the fourth game in a row. We saw more Foster Moreau and less Taysom Hill this week than last, but any fantasy manager who took a chance on Hill was still rewarded thanks to a 1-yard touchdown run.
- Evan Engram and Michael Thomas entered this game as the only players with more than 30 receptions but no touchdowns. Thomas ended that series in the fourth quarter, but Engram remained without a touchdown.
Table notes
• Snaps include plays that are called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. These plays have been removed from the other three statistics.
• Goals may vary from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be a clearly thrown away pass, where the NFL might pass the target to the closest receiver, whereas this data does not.
• Carries only occur on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles do not count toward the total number of carries in the game.