Chris Thompson (RB, JAX) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues

OWNED IN: 40% of Leagues

ANALYSIS: Jacksonville’s decision to jettison Leonard Fournette has ignited interest in Devine Ozigbo, Ryquell Armstead, and James Robinson, as the fantasy community attempts to determine which back will benefit most from Fournette’s departure. However, Thompson was destined to receive a sizable share of the 100 targets that Fournette collected last season even before Fournette was released. He built a track record of flourishing as a receiver when Jacksonville’s offensive coordinator Jay Gruden was his head coach in Washington. That includes last season when Thompson was third among backs in targets (35/7.0 per game) and receiving yards (268/53.6 per game) before a protracted toe problem sidelined him from Weeks 6-12.

Chris Thompson is a reliable pass-catcher with a defined role that will now grow larger. He was brought in by new OC Jay Gruden, who coached him in Washington. Oh, and before I forget about it: Leonard Fournette is out of Jacksonville for good and we're hours removed from knowing about Ryquell Armstead COVID-related shut-down "for a while", which both opened the door even more for Thompson starting in Week 1.

Thompson has even been seeing red-zone work throughout training camp. Although he didn't score a single TD last year, he should have done better. FantasyPros' Touchdown Regression rankings have him as the leader among RB in projected positive TD regression. There may not be many scores to go around in Jacksonville this year but there will be plenty of playing from behind, which works in a pass-catching back's favor. Thompson could be a solid RB3 each week, even if he isn't a league-winner.

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