It’s buy week for Maurice Jones-Drew
Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew ran well in a lopsided loss to Chicago on Sunday, gaining 4.7 yards per carry against one of the NFL's better run defenses. In fact, this run was one of the day's absolute best, as Jones-Drew dragged a helpless Chris Conte over the final eight yards. That's badass. It's also vintage MJD.
However, Jones-Drew was a dud for fantasy purposes in Week 5, as he was limited to just 13 touches. The Jags offense only possessed the football for 24 minutes, gaining just 189 total net yards. Blaine Gabbert was dreadful, posting a passer rating of 37.7 and tossing two pick-sixes.
But MJD has overcome poor quarterback play before, of course. The dude led the league in rushing last season, when Gabbert was a punchline. There's no reason to think that Jones-Drew won't be a terrific fantasy asset following his team's Week 6 bye. The forecast here remains sunny.
Just take a quick look at Jacksonville's upcoming games...
...and tell me you don't like what you see.
Five of the next seven defenses on MJD's schedule currently rank in the bottom-half of the league against the run. Tennessee and Buffalo are uncommonly generous, allowing 144.2 and 171.8 rushing yards per game. There's simply no way Jacksonville won't lean heavily (if not exclusively) on Jones-Drew when they return from the break.
So if you're well-positioned in the fantasy standings on Tuesday morning — let's say your team is 3-2 or better — and your league's MJD owner is scuffling ... well, you know what to do. Make your move. You probably don't need a fantasy expert to point you in the direction of this bye-week buying opportunity.
