Can DJ Chark Be A Reliable Option For 2021 Fantasy?
DJ Chark has been a bright spot on a disappointing Jaguars team since arriving in 2018. In three years, he has been part of some bad teams with even worse quarterback play. Chark has caught passes from Blake Bortles, Mike Glennon, Gardner Minshew, Cody Kessler, Nick Foles, and Jake Luton during his time in Jacksonville. That is just a painful list to read. With the arrival of Trevor Lawrence, what does DJ Chark’s fantasy value look like in 2021?
Chark’s 2020 season was solid, in 13 games he had 53 receptions, 706 yards, and five touchdowns. Those stats ranked Chark as the 48th receiver in non-PPR leagues. I think a lot of fantasy owners were disappointed with Chark as he had fewer receptions, yards, and touchdowns in 2020 compared to 2019.
While I think Chark is the number one receiver on this Jaguars team, I have a few worries about him consistently producing every week. First, this offense has a lot of mouths to feed. James Robinson had a breakout rookie season rushing for over 1,000 yards, they just drafted Travis Etienne in the first round and OC Darrell Bevell has been explicit in getting Laviska Shenault more touches in 2021.
I think this team is going to run a lot more than people expect. I know they just drafted Trevor Lawrence but Darrell Bevell loves to run the football. Bevell spent 12 years as the OC for both the Seahawks and Vikings. In seven of those twelve years, Bevell’s offense ranked in the top ten for rushing attempts. Do I think James Robinson and Etienne are an elite running back duo, absolutely not? However, I think having a competent running game to take the pressure off of your rookie quarterback is huge. Lawrence will get to sling the ball around the field but this offense is going to run the football.
Finally, the Jaguars are a bad team and are going to be trailing in a majority of their games. What does that mean for Chark and this offense? Meyer and Bevell will integrate running plays throughout the game plan but once you are down two or three scores, you have no choice but to start airing the ball out. Defenses will go into prevent, Lawrence will get to throw and Chark is going to rack up stats in garbage time.
Chark has WR2 upside but with the a number of offensive pieces and a solid run game, I do not think Chark can provide the consistency fantasy owners are looking for.
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