This weekend the Jacksonville Jaguars will be making their way to Arrowhead Stadium. It’s a match up of the NFL’s best offense and the NFL’s best defense. Not surpirisingly, Leonard Fournette has been ruled out of Sunday’s game. Fourth year back T.J. Yeldon will get the starting nod for the third time this season in his place. But Yeldon is dealing with an ankle injury of his own. Let’s see how Yeldon can have success against the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend.
Outlook for T.J. Yeldon Against the Kansas City Chiefs
Dual Threat Back
While T.J. Yeldon is not a feature back in the league, he is definitely a dual threat option for the Jaguars. He even had a 31 yard touchdown reception against the Jets last week in addition to a late rushing score. On the season, Yeldon has 205 yards on 49 rushes. That is good for 4.1 yards per carry. However, he has been dealing with an ankle injury for a few weeks that fortunately has not kept him from practicing this week. That’s a good thing because the Jaguars will be leaning on him to get the running game going.
So far this season, the Chiefs have allowed 392 yards on 85 rushes. That is 4.6 yards per carry and half a yard more than Yeldon is averaging this season. The great thing about Yeldon is his pass catching ability. He runs hard but is not a Fournette-style runner that pushes the pile. As mentioned above, Yeldon had a passing touchdown last week, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see another from him this week. On the year, Yeldon has 14 receptions for 125 yards with two touchdowns. The bottom line is, T.J. Yeldon and the Jaguars are facing a defense that isn’t hard to move the ball on. Barring an aggravation to his ankle on Sunday, he could be in line for a big game.
Yeldon’s Fantasy Outlook
T.J. Yeldon is doing surprisingly well this year in fantasy football. In standard leagues, Yeldon is the 12th ranked running back averaging 12.3 points per game (ESPN leagues). In point per reception leagues, Yeldon is the 10th ranked back at 15.8 points per game (ESPN leagues). He is more valuable in PPR leagues but is a viable starter as long as Leonard Fournette is sidelined. If you don’t have one of the elite backs or if one of your starters is on a bye, Yeldon would be a good pick up.
The Last Word
Sunday’s game for Yeldon has more implications than just the Jaguars success that day, though. This game could be a good look at the team’s workhorse back for the duration of Fournette’s absence. This is Yeldon’s fourth year with the team, but it’s been a while since he was the starter. With a former teammate in Chris Ivory, and Leonard Fournette the starter for the past year, this will be a good chance for Yeldon to prove himself. He won’t take the starting job from Fournette, but it’s a chance to bolster his role on the team and show other teams looking for a starter what he can do. Yes, Corey Grant is also a running back on the team. But, he doesn’t get enough success as a pure runner to be a dual threat back like Yeldon. This week, it’s T.J. Yeldon’s time to shine.
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