Fantasy Football Fallout: How Joe Flacco Affects Jets Skill Players
Flacco will start Week 1 vs. the Ravens
The Jets will be without Zach Wilson for at least Week 1 of the 2022-23 season, and the public appears to be giving up on New York’s skill position players.
Joe Flacco will reportedly be in line to start for the Jets in their opening game against the Baltimore Ravens, according to ESPN insider Adam Schefter. Wilson had successful arthroscopic knee surgery Tuesday, but the injury isn’t likely to keep him out for very long, meaning Wilson could start against the New England Patriots in Week 8.
Flacco has been receiving positive reviews while working with the starters, but average fantasy football draft position for the Jets skill players have taken a dip.
Breece Hall is the exception, however. The rookie running back’s value isn’t tied too deeply with who is under center, and he is being taken at an ADP of 42.8 on consensus and at pick 39 in Yahoo leagues — good for RB20, according to FantasyPros.
Elijah Moore is likely to be the No. 1 receiver for the Jets, and he has fallen to pick 101 in Yahoo leagues — consensus has him at an ADP of 86.0.
First-round pick Garrett Wilson has taken a considerable fall. The No. 10 pick of the 2022 NFL Draft is now being drafted in the later rounds at pick 161 in Yahoo leagues as the WR49.
While the hopes of the season were pinned on Wilson’s development, the 37-year-old Flacco might not make the Jets irrelevant in fantasy.
The former Super Bowl MVP started one game last season, and against the Dolphins, Moore caught eight passes off 11 targets for 141 yards and a touchdown. Jamison Crowder, who is now with the Buffalo Bills, caught six passes off seven targets for 44 yards and a touchdown. And Corey Davis, who is going undrafted in Yahoo leagues, received seven targets.
The point is the Jets may be a buy-low option at their current prices. Garrett Wilson was always a bet on talent kind of player, based on his career at Ohio State. It was very easy to build Zack Wilson stacks — pairing a skill player with a quarterback — due to how late most Jets were going. But, depending on how you build your team and assuming Wilson will not be that affected by his injury when he returns, the Jets could be worth a late-round flier in fantasy drafts.
