New QB in Jacksonville: Nick Foles gets
a starting job but will he have enough weapons to be a QB1?
If there’s one thing Nick Foles has proven over his career,
it’s that he is a winner. Now entering his eighth season,
Foles is hoping 2019 is the first season where he starts a full
16 games.
The Jaguars are Foles’ fourth team, but certainly far from
the best offense he’s enjoyed. They were footballoutsiders’
30th ranked offense in 2018, but a lot of the blame falls on Blake
Bortles, who has no business being a backup quarterback in the
NFL, let alone a starter.
Who Foles is throwing to remains uncertain. Keelan Cole and Dede Westbrook opened last season as the team’s two best receivers,
but by the end of the year, Cole barely saw the field. Marqise Lee should be fully recovered from his preseason ACL tear and
the team may look to add a receiver either in free agency or through
the draft. If not, perhaps sophomore D.J. Chark can take a step
forward after seeing just 32 targets as a rookie.
We’ve seen Foles make some truly impressive throws. We’ve
also seen him make some bonehead decisions. In 2018, he took over
for an injured Carson Wentz and led the Eagles back to the postseason,
even picking up a road win against the league’s best defense.
Foles finished fourth in true completion percentage at 75.4% and
was excellent under pressure, leading the league with an astounding
62.5 completion percentage while under duress. I stand firmly
in the “Nick Foles is good” camp and am excited to
see what he can do when a team truly gives him the keys to the
offense.
Unfortunately, for fantasy purposes, it’s hard to envision
Foles as anything other than a streaming option in favorable matchups.
The quarterback position is so deep and even in a clearly superior
Eagles offense, Foles was never a reliable fantasy asset.
Westbrook is the only Jaguars receiver likely to be drafted in
fantasy leagues and he is nothing more than a late-round flier.
Surprisingly, Bortles actually threw Westbrook a catchable target
84.2% of the time, 17th in the league. While the Jaguars offense
should be better under Foles, increasing Westbrook’s touchdown
potential, his numbers are unlikely to improve all that much.
As for Lee, Chark, and Cole, if they are the next four on the
depth chart as of August, it is doubtful any of them will be draftable.
Perhaps one emerges as a useful option during the season, but
outside of 16+ team leagues and dynasty formats, none of them
should be owned to start the season.
With uncertainty surrounding the Jaguars receivers and no one
truly locked into a high target role, this passing offense remains
one to avoid entering the 2019 season.
