Editor’s Note: James Robinson has been traded to the New York Jets. Read more about the Michael Carter, James Robinson Fantasy Football projection.
James Robinson enters his third year in the NFL as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Robinson was an undrafted rookie free agent that the Jaguars signed after the 2020 NFL Draft. Robinson tore his Achilles in a week 16 game against the New York Jets ending his season. He has a chance to be ready for week one of the 2022 season. The return of teammate Travis Etienne has left Robinson as a sleeper entering the 2022 fantasy season. Here is the 2022 fantasy football outlook for James Robinson.
READ MORE: Deebo Samuel Fantasy Football Outlook
2022 Fantasy Football Outlook: James Robinson
2021 Recap
James Robinson played in 14 games in 2022, due to his season-ending torn Achilles. Robinson finished the season as RB19 with 12.4 PPR points per game. In five of his games, he had under 10 touches. In those games, he averaged under four PPR points per game. If you take the single-digit touch games away he averaged over 14 PPR points per game.
James Robinson since Week 3:
3-straight games of 20+ fantasy points (PPR)
3-straight games of 15+ carries
JRob might be benefiting from Travis Etienne’s season-ending injury, but at least he’s capitalizing at a high level
— JL (@JLefk0) October 11, 2021
Remains to be seen if he sees this workload with the addition of teammate running back Travis Etienne. Etienne missed the entire 2020 season due to a broken foot that he sustained in training camp last season. Etienne coming into the NFL projected as a pass-catching specialist with the long speed to be a big play threat anytime he touches the ball. It remains to be seen what type of player he will be in the NFL but his role will impact James Robinson’s fantasy value this season. In 2020 the Jaguars finished dead last in total points and were 31st in total touchdowns and time of possession. It is hard to have a good fantasy running back on a team like that but Robinson made it happen in 2021.
2022 Outlook
Robinson enters this season with some question marks regarding his injury status and also the competition with Etienne returning this year. The Jaguars were a terrible offense in 2021 from every metric. Jacksonville added Christian Kirk and Evan Engram in free agency. The Jaguars also added former Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Doug Pederson. Pederson won a Superbowl with the Eagles in 2017 and was widely considered one of the best offensive minds in the league during his time with the Eagles. He will bring that offense to Jacksonville in 2022 and try to develop Trevor Lawrence the way he did with Carson Wentz in year two.
In Pederson’s five years with Philadelphia, he has had nine running backs finish with at least 100 total touches in a season. This bodes well for Robinson whenever he fully returns from his Achilles tear injury. Robinson and Etienne are completely different running backs and that is a good thing for fantasy. They will be able to share snaps since they have different strengths. Robinson’s strengths include his between-the-tackles running abilities and short-yardage abilities as a runner. Etienne is better off as a receiver and in open space. Etienne’s small frame and lack of experience as a pass protector should give Robinson an edge when it comes to playing on passing downs.
Average Draft Position
James Robinson is currently going as RB39 in the ninth round. Assumptions would lead you to believe that this has everything to do with his current injury. Somewhat true, this ADP has more to do with his teammate Travis Etienne’s return this season. Etienne was going ahead of Robinson in drafts last year and on his return this year the same is happening again. Etienne is going five rounds ahead of Robinson in round four. The more positive news that comes for Robinson the higher his ADP will rise. For those doing drafts now taking Robinson as late as you can pay off in the end if he receives a role similar to his previous seasons.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
