For the most part, many teams are not privileged to have elite quarterbacks on their roster. Sure, their plenty of decent to good passers out there, but when you break it down there are only a select few signal-callers that are worthy of the moniker “elite”. However, for all of the quarterbacks that fall immensely or just short of being one of the best, some of them are lucky enough to have surrounding playmakers that make them appear to be much more proficient at their craft. While these respective receivers and running backs cannot cover up all of the blemishes of their respective quarterbacks, they can alleviate enough of the pressure to help their passers excel where normally they would fall short in terms of success.
Team: Jacksonville Jaguars
Position: Wide Receiver
Percent Owned On Fantasy Teams: (Yahoo Fantasy): 37%
Fantasy Points Total Thru Week 8 (Half PPR): Projected: 62.73 Actual: 60.5
While he may not be an elite talent, wideout Allen Hurns has done a magnificent job at helping a barely adequate quarterback in Blake Bortles look competent more often than not (Bortles QB rating when Hurns is targeted: 114.5, 12th in the league). Specifically, Hurns is able to create separation from his defenders consistently (1.84 yards of separation per target, 13th amongst receivers), allowing Bortles to make relatively low risk passes. Although Bortles is likely in his last year with the Jaguars, Hurns at least allows his woeful quarterback to look at least decent when he is targeted.
When it comes to his presence in the red zone, Hurns is one of the most reliable wideouts in the league when it comes to red zone target shares (30.4% red zone target share, 9th amongst receivers) and receptions (six red zone receptions, 4th amongst receivers). Although his constant use in this area of the field does not always result in touchdowns, his consistency in receiving targets when the Jaguars are in red zone makes him an intriguing fantasy player that is almost always a catch away from scoring big.
Although Hurns does not always receive the ample target shares for someone who has such an underrated and useful skillset, he has proven his value against weak secondaries and is usually targeted downfield, giving him intriguing big play ability. Typically, Hurns should be considered a streaming flex play with promising upside against poor pass defenses.
