Week 16 of the NFL season kicks off with a Thursday Night Football matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets. As fantasy managers look to finalize their lineups in the second round of the playoffs, the Jaguars’ red-hot offense should boast a number of offensive playmakers. Among them is tight end Evan Engram, but is he a lock-in starter for fantasy managers this week?
Fantasy Football Analysis: TE Evan Engram
The Jaguars are coming from a miraculous come-from-behind victory last week over the Cowboys, and it coincided with another strong outing from their tight end. Engram led all Jaguars in receptions (8) and was tied with the most targets (10) as he finished with 62 yards and 14.2 PPR fantasy points. The veteran tight end has combined for 24 catches, 254 yards, and three touchdowns in his last three games and could be the beneficiary of a favorable game script in Week 16.
The Jaguars have a short turnaround as they face the Jets on Thursday Night Football, who ranks 13th versus fantasy football tight ends (6.6 PPG allowed).
Jacksonville has averaged 30.0 PPG in the last three weeks, which is the fourth-best scoring offense in that time span. That offensive resurgence has coincided with what appears to be an expanded role for Engram. Simply put, he’s been one of the best fantasy tight ends in football over the past couple of weeks, and if he can find his way back to the end zone he should catch fire at the perfect time for fantasy managers battling in the playoffs.
Start or sit in Week 16?
The Jets’ secondary is notably led by Sauce Gardner, but if he commands attention to the likes of Christian Kirk and Zay Jones it could mean a heavier workload for Engram. Fire him up as a surefire starter for Week 16.