Marvin Jones has had an interesting career. He’s 30-years-old with only a single 1,000-yard season, and yet his WR37 ADP looks like a value.
Jones is not a target volume guy. He’s never had a 110-target season, and over the last two years he hasn’t managed 100 combined receptions. And yet, he’s been a top-30 WR in PPR/G in each of the last three years, and few vertical receivers have made as many big plays. He has a multi-touchdown game in each of the three campaigns, including a four-score game in 2019.
Since moving to Detroit to join Matthew Stafford and the Lions, his efficiency has popped.
The Range of Outcomes tool also likes Jones as a top value play, and Sam Wallace profiles Jones as one of several WR teammates where the cheaper player will provide more value to fantasy owners.
Jones is a smart play, especially for RB-heavy drafters who need solid receivers in the late single-digit rounds. But we also shouldn’t ignore a few of his red flags. He’s missed games in each of the last two seasons, and as Blair Andrews’ recent Wrong Read reminds us, he’s into a portion of his career where a continued target decline is likely. Combine this with a potential increase in targets for T.J. Hockenson and backs like De’Andre Swift, and Jones hovers right at the edge of target viability for a weekly starter. Suddenly he doesn’t look so undervalued.
Fortunately for drafters who like this profile, two perfect replacement options exist, and they won’t cost you such a key pick.
2 Explosive Options to Replace Jones for Pennies
Although I like Jones in a vacuum, he would never end up on one of my rosters. Christian Kirk, Deebo Samuel, Darius Slayton, and Mecole Hardman are must-draft options at these prices. Any of them could end up as top-15 options. All of them are slightly less expensive than Jones.
In the Discount Series, we’re looking at players who can replace the production volume and style at a fraction of the cost. When we peruse the rest of the board, Jones’ lower-priced doppelgangers pop out.
