In somewhat of a surprise, Gardner Minshew’s talented target, DJ Chark, was ruled out for the Jaguars’ Thursday night matchup with the Dolphins. While it sucks for Minshew owners, especially after I declared Minshew a potential league-winner off the Week 3 Waiver Wire, it’s about to be Laviska Shenault’s coming out party on national television. Currently owned in only 28 percent of leagues, Shenault should be rostered everywhere and streamed with confidence if one of your stud wideouts is on the shelf for Week 3.
Nope, this isn’t the first time we’ve talked about the electric and versatile rookie. The Wolf labeled the young stud as one of the main fantasy beneficiaries of the Leonard Fournette release and our guy Trevor Sikkema joined The Wolf on the Fantasy Fullback Dive to declare Shenault as his rookie WR3 in redraft leagues.
While Shenault isn’t getting the love that fellow rookie CeeDee Lamb is, and deservedly so, his versatile skill-set is impressing his teammates and most importantly, his quarterback.
“Laviska is doing really well. I think one of the things that’s a testament to his work [is] being able to know all those different spots,” Minshew said. “And then, it’s a testament to our coaching staff being very creative and just trying to get him the ball in different ways. It’s fun to see each week what they come up with and how we can include him in different ways.”
If you haven’t tuned into any Jaguars’ games during the first two weeks, expect to see the rookie lining up at wide receiver, running back, and even Wildcat quarterback. The do-it-all weapon forced the most missed tackles by a college football wideout over the last two seasons and he brings a physical presence whenever the ball is in his hands.
“I still want him to play fast and still learn the nuisances of being a wide receiver, a very good receiver first,” Jags’ offensive coordinator Jay Gruden said. “But to just sprinkle a few plays with him in the backfield and doing some different things with him.”
Through two weeks, Shenault’s recorded a modest six receptions for 72 yards and a score, but he’s also added another 47 yards on the ground on seven carries.
With Chark out, expect those numbers to inflate across the board tonight. Don’t forget to hammer the over on his 3.5 reception total and even sprinkle on his chances of scoring a touchdown at +190. The rookie is up to The Wolf’s WR34 (+5 vs ECR) on his Week 3 Fantasy Football Rankings.
