Jaelen Strong Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

The receiver was trending towards making his debut this week but he won't be out there against the Rams this afternoon. Marqise Lee and Allen Hurns will continue to be the primary receivers. Neither are particularly appealing fantasy targets due to Jacksonville's playcalling. They're only passing on 44.8% of their plays, the lowest rate in the league, and they'll likely continue to employ that approach for as long as possible this afternoon. With the Rams defensive front generating a ton of pressure on quarterbacks and ranking seventh in adjusted sack rate (per FO), the Jaguars have even more incentive to limit the amount Blake Bortles drops back. That said, if game flow forces them to the air, Lee appears to have the better matchup with Trumaine Johnson, who's allowed the 11th-most yards (292). Slot corner Nickell Robey-Coleman has allowed the second-fewest yards out of the slot and he should see Hurns inside quite a bit.

Lee hasn't found the end zone yet this season and he's seen his targets decline each week since Allen Robinson's injury, falling from 12 in Week 2 to three this past Sunday. Meanwhile, Allen Hurns picked up ten looks against the Jets and he's caught two touchdown passes over the last three games. Unfortunately for Lee, he's going to see a bunch of Artie Burns on the left side of the formation (if he plays), where he primarily runs his routes. Burns is currently third in yards per cover snap (0.39, per PFF) and despite being targeted 21 times (28th-most), he's allowed just 61 yards (fourth-fewest). It won't get much easier for Hurns in the slot; he'll square off against Mike Hilton, who ranks fourth in yards per cover snap when in slot coverage (0.72). On the positive side, Burns doesn't shadow, which means Lee would get some run against Joe Haden. The corner has been the weak link of the Pittsburgh secondary, allowing 13 receptions for 181 yards on 19 targets. It's also worth considering Pittsburgh's strength of schedule; they've faced the Browns, Bears, Ravens, and a Case Keenum-led Vikings squad - three of those teams rank 26th or worse in offense DVOA (per FO). It's certainly possible, if not likely, that's inflated their defense's production and current standings in the top ten in both pass and rush DVOA. Even so, Jacksonville is currently passing on just 47.7% of their passing plays, the second-lowest rate in the league. If anyone is in a position to produce against this defense, it may be Fournette. Dalvin Cook was able to average 5.3 yards per carry in his limited workload - 12 carries as game flow worked against him - and the Jordan Howard-Tarik Cohen duo piled up 218 rushing yards on 25 attempts in Chicago's overtime victory a week later. They added a combined 9/50/0 receiving line for good measure. This past weekend, Alex Collins produced another strong ypc rate (9.1) but had just nine attempts due to poor game script. If Jacksonville's defense can keep the game competitive - which may be wishful thinking as it would require their rush defense drastically improve in a game against Le'Veon Bell - the Jaguars will likely continue to feed Fournette in what may be a better-than-it-looks matchup for runners.

It will be Strong's first practice with the team. He's expected to be limited along with Ramsey and Leonard Fournette (ankle). If Strong is able to suit up this weekend, he's not expected to earn a big role out of the gates, but he could see more involvement in the offense if Lee misses any time. However, Lee was able to finish the game Sunday and his day off Wednesday could just be a maintenance day. If he returns to tomorrow's practice, he'll be on track to play Week 5. The receiver hasn't found the end zone yet this season and he's seen his targets decline each week since Allen Robinson's injury, going from 12 in Week 2 to three this past Sunday. Meanwhile, Allen Hurns picked up ten looks against the Jets and he's caught two touchdown passes over the last three games. Unfortunately for Lee, he's going to see a bunch of Artie Burns on the left side of the formation, where he primarily runs his routes. Burns is currently third in yards per cover snap (0.39, per PFF) and despite being targeted 21 times (28th-most), he's allowed just 61 yards (fourth-fewest). It won't get much easier for Hurns in the slot; he'll square off against Mike Hilton, who ranks fourth in yards per cover snap in the slot (0.72). On the positive side, Burns doesn't shadow, which means Lee will get some run against Joe Haden. The corner has been the weak link of the Pittsburgh secondary, allowing 13 receptions for 181 yards on 19 targets. Another thing to consider is Pittsburgh's strength of schedule, they've faced the Browns, Bears, Ravens, and a Case Keenum-led Vikings squad - three of those teams rank in the bottom 26 in terms of offense DVOA (per FO). It's certainly possible, if not likely, that's inflated their defense's production and current standings in the top ten in both pass and rush DVOA. Even so, Jacksonville is currently passing on just 47.7% of their passing plays, the second-lowest rate in the league. If anyone is in a position to produce against this defense, it may be Fournette. Dalvin Cook was able to average 5.3 yards per carry in his limited workload - 12 carries as game flow worked against him - and the Jordan Howard-Tarik Cohen duo piled up 218 rushing yards on 25 attempts in Chicago's overtime victory a week later. They added a combined 9/50/0 receiving line for good measure. This past weekend, Alex Collins produced another strong ypc rate (9.1) but had just nine attempts due to poor game script. If Jacksonville's defense can keep the game competitive - which would require their rush defense drastically improve against Le'Veon Bell - the Jaguars will likely continue to feed Fournette in what appears to be a better-than-it-looks matchup for runners.

Strong was waived by the Texans earlier this week and Jacksonville decided to pick him up to add depth following Allen Robinson's injury. He could potentially work his way into a decent workload alongside Marquise Lee and Allen Hurns. Strong isn't expected to play this weekend and won't be eligible to accrue points in fantasy due to the team change.

The Texans have parted ways with the third-year receiver and signed Andy Jones to take his place. Jones is an undrafted free agent who hasn't played an NFL snap since coming out of college in 2016. He's an impressive athlete who posted a 41.5" vertical at his pro day with 4.5 40-yard speed. He won't be on the fantasy radar though. Houston will continue to provide DeAndre Hopkins a huge workload as Braxton Miller operates as the second receiver. It appears they could get tight end Ryan Griffin (concussion) back this week as well.

The receiver was serving a one-game suspension following a violation of the NFL substance-abuse policy. With Will Fuller sidelined, Strong will jump into the number two or three role. Current second option Braxton Miller failed to catch his lone target Sunday and earned a 44.4 grade from Pro Football Focus, right on par with his 2016 score (43.1). Strong wasn't much better than Miller last season (48.7), catching 14-of-24 passes over eight appearances. Houston desperately needs one of them to step up as a playmaker so opposing defenses aren't able to simply focus on taking away DeAndre Hopkins. This is especially true in Week 2 as both C.J. Fiedorowicz and Ryan Griffin are dealing with concussions in a short week. Although Strong should be given some opportunities Thursday, he doesn't appear to be a good target in this poor offense.

Strong has been out since Week 8 with an ankle injury and the Texans have decided to shut him down for the season. He had two games with five receptions, but was a non-factor otherwise. He was already ruled out this week, so this move won't change much in fantasy. Will Fuller has averaged 4.5 receptions and 59.5 yards over the past two games, he'll be an interesting tournament option in a great spot against the Colts. DeAndre Hopkins has received 9 targets per game over the last two and scored his first touchdown since Week 5 last game. His price has really come down quite a bit this season since Brock Osweiler has had trouble connecting with him. Osweiler posted his highest pass rating (97.6) last week though, despite the tough weather conditions. The last time his rating was above 90 was Week 6 against the Colts (90.7); he threw for 269 yards (season-high) and two touchdowns in that one. Hopkins is still an elite receiver and could be a sneaky GPP play as we're projecting his ownership at just 4.0% on DraftKings.

Fuller (leg) has failed to exceed 31 yards in four of his last five games. He's only managed to score once in that stretch. In part, that's due to quarterback Brock Osweiler's poor performance this season. The Texans travel to Jacksonville this weekend, and Osweiler is even worse on the road. Fuller will be shadowed by Prince Amukamara, who has earned an 81.8 grade from Pro Football Focus. It's not a great week to target the rookie receiver, but his big play ability always makes him worth a look in tournaments. This week, he's best as a GPP flier. We're currently projecting his ownership at less than 1% on both FanDuel and DraftKings.

With Will Fuller unlikely to play Sunday Night Jaelen Strong becomes an interesting option. Strong tied for a team-high nine targets last week. He's available for $3000 on DraftKings and $4600 on FanDuel.

Fuller is dealing with a hamstring injury and while he was able to practice this week (in a limited capacity), he's not expected to suit up Sunday night against the Colts. It'll leave DeAndre Hopkins as the clear leader of the passing attack with Lamar Miller likely the focal point against a non-resistant Colts run defense - 40.8% of running plays against the Colts have resulted in at least five yards, worst rate in the league. It's now feasible that Vontae Davis will spend the evening tracking DeAndre Hopkins despite reports all week saying Davis would stick to his side. Hopkins is still not a viable cash game target unless his price has fallen along with his recent production, but he's a fine GPP target. Jaelen Strong is also on the map as a differentiation GPP punt play at WR after seeing nine targets last week and 15 over his last two games. C.J. Fiedorowicz also gets a bump after his eight-target outing in Minnesota last week, and he'll have an easier draw this week.