How is Keelan Cole ranked so low in early fantasy rankings?

[ninotoreS]

Literally nothing has changed besides the addition of Moncrief (a hated player on these boards due to his underwhelming performances) and Chark (rookie gadget player).

That's literally a lot of change.

What's been invested in those two implies the team sees them as starters over Cole, Moncrief immediately and Chark by '19 or '20. Also, you didn't mention Lee's big extension.

And calling Chark a 'gadget player' is silly. Chark is a 6'3" outside-WR. Jags didn't spend a 2nd round pick on Chark planning for him to only ever be on the field in 4/5-wide. Tavon Austin is a gadget player.

[FantasyFreak]

Literally nothing has changed besides the addition of Moncrief (a hated player on these boards due to his underwhelming performances) and Chark (rookie gadget player).

That's literally a lot of change.

What's been invested in those two implies the team sees them as starters over Cole, Moncrief immediately and Chark by '19 or '20. Also, you didn't mention Lee's big extension.

And Chark isn't a gadget player. Chark is a vertical threat. That isn't the same thing as a gadget player. Vertical threat outside-WRs are commonly starters in the NFL. Jags didn't spend a 2nd round pick on Chark planning for him to only ever be on the field in 4/5-wide.

This is true, but if Cole plays the way he did the last month or month and a half of the season there is no way they can leave him off the field.

[fakespike13]

Have some faith in your eyes.

[ninotoreS]

As I've said before, I think Cole was impressive last year. I think the Jags should've gone forward with Cole and Westbrook as starters with Lee in 3-wide. Perhaps the ten million they would've saved could've gone toward retaining Colvin, and that 2nd round pick could've been used to draft someone more talented than Blair Brown at strong-side linebacker.

But it's apparent the Jags front-office and/or coaching staff disagreed. Now barring injury or performance faceplant, Lee is locked in as a long-term starter, Moncrief is locked in as a starter this year, and Chark is probably planned to start by '19 or '20, or immediately if he develops fast.

Now, presumably, Cole has to compete for the #3 WR job with Chark and Westbrook, in a run-heavy offense with a bad quarterback, while Chark has the advantage of draft capital. It's undeserved, but it's what's happening.

[jman3134]

Literally nothing has changed besides the addition of Moncrief (a hated player on these boards due to his underwhelming performances) and Chark (rookie gadget player).

That's literally a lot of change.

What's been invested in those two implies the team sees them as starters over Cole, Moncrief immediately and Chark by '19 or '20. Also, you didn't mention Lee's big extension.

And calling Chark a 'gadget player' is silly. Chark is a 6'3" outside-WR. Jags didn't spend a 2nd round pick on Chark planning for him to only ever be on the field in 4/5-wide. Tavon Austin is a gadget player.

Why is calling Chark a gadget player silly? While it can be argued this is due to the LSU system and QB play, Chark was not the most hyped college player coming in. Yes, speed kills. But, he is way more unproven than some of the elite speed names that turned out to be busts. Austin, if you remember, was a round 1 pick. So there was hope for him to be more than a gadget, as this is considerably more draft capital than the Jags invested in Chark.

Draft capital and projections therein ultimately are not going to keep a guy like Cole off the field if he performs. It just means Moncrief was a stupid move and is a cuts candidate next year.

Edit: my theme - trust your gut, not the money trail.

[ArrylT]

Don't forget about Corey Grant.

[ninotoreS]

Why is calling Chark a gadget player silly?

Because he's not a gadget-player.

While it can be argued this is due to the LSU system and QB play, Chark was not the most hyped college player coming in. Yes, speed kills. But, he is way more unproven than some of the elite speed names that turned out to be busts.

Sure. These are reasonable, agreeable statements. And none of this describes a gadget-player.

Austin, if you remember, was a round 1 pick. So there was hope for him to be more than a gadget, as this is considerably more draft capital than the Jags invested in Chark.

Fair point. But that hope was obviously delusional all along, and is part of the reason why Jeff Fisher is in forced retirement at the moment.

Austin is 5'8" and had no route-craft or functional play-strength coming out of college; all of his prospect hype centered on his ability after the ball was already in his hands -- this is the definition of a gadget-player, i.e. a physically limited, non-traditional gadget that needs the ball schemed into his hands before he can really contribute. Regardless of his overdrafting in a very weak draft class, Austin objectively profiled as a gadget piece at the pro level from day one.

In contrast, Chark is 6'3", and profiles exactly as a traditional, field-stretching boundary receiver that starts in 2/3-wide to pull safeties out of the box and help the running-game. This does not describe a 'gadget' -- it's the standard mold for an outside-WR, and I guarantee you it's the logic behind his drafting (Marrone and Hackett are very vanilla offensive minds).

Edit: my theme - trust your gut

'Trusting your gut' is too often just a pseudo-rationalization for indulging an emotional, sentimental, and/or biased viewpoint.

[Jason]

DJ Chark isn't a gadget player. He might be an Al Davis wet dream, green as grass speed demon WR, but that doesn't make him a gadget player, it makes him a situational deep threat until he develops into hopefully a competent outside receiver.

I consider guys like Dexter Mccluster, Tavon Austin, Antwan Randle El gadget players.

[ninotoreS]

Yes. That.

Don't get me wrong jman3134, I'm not particularly optimistic about Chark. In fact, I think Moncrief has better odds to succeed, now that he's finally on a team that will use him vertically.

But I have learned not to give Doug Marrone and Nathan Hackett much credit when it comes to evaluating talent correctly and best utilizing the pieces they have. Marrone basically destroyed CJ Spiller's career, and his NFL rep trades on him once being the Saints OC while everyone forgets that the Saints offense really only took off *after* he left for Syracuse. Hackett's young, but he's as vanilla as a 70-year-old, and he's Marrone's pet. Keelan Cole is a rough gem in the possession of oblivious prospectors.

[knotts4372]

like cole a bunch and wish chark went somewhere else but you lost any credibility when you said chark is a gadget player

[jman3134]

Ok, so Chark profiles as a Marquise Goodwin lite deep play threat then with plus height? My understanding was he would be used in jet sweeps and other rushing oriented plays (as he was used in college), which is why I mentioned gadget. Also, I thought his route craft was raw. Didn't mean to 'lose' any potential credibility. Lol.

However you want to envision his potential role in year 1, I would still put my money down on the proven option (Cole). And no, trusting your gut is not an overly emotional sentiment unless you have a weak gut. There's nothing scientific about prospect evaluation and the eyes are certainly a big part of it, unless you simply evaluate situation/opportunity and/or college stats. Anything else and you are being intellectually dishonest.

[Wile E. Coyote]

As the Allen Robinson owner, I plucked Keelan Cole out of the waiver wire mid-season last year when due to injuries and bye-weeks, I needed a mid-season fill in for a couple of weeks. Enjoyed riding Cole's late season run as well and; I admit, I never saw that coming when I claimed him. Now with Moncrief being signed by Jacksonville, I have the (mis)fortune of having both on my team. Out of all of this, I'm also the Bortles and Trubisky owner (Supeflex), so my Bortles/Robinson stack became a Trubisky/Robinson stack.

I don't know what to do, because to me Cole was more impressive than Moncrief was in Indy, but to pay $9.6M for a one year contract, they must have some sort of a game plan for Moncrief or not impressed with Cole.

[Space Cowboy]

(USA Today Fantasy Sports) Jacksonville Jaguars WR Keelan Cole appears to be the leading candidate for slot receiver job at this point, in the opinion of FirstCoastNews.com's Mike Kaye.

Analysis: Jacksonville Jaguars WR Keelan Cole appears to be the leading candidate for slot receiver job at this point, in the opinion of FirstCoastNews.com's Mike Kaye.

[Kurt G.O.A.T.]

As the Allen Robinson owner, I plucked Keelan Cole out of the waiver wire mid-season last year when due to injuries and bye-weeks, I needed a mid-season fill in for a couple of weeks. Enjoyed riding Cole's late season run as well and; I admit, I never saw that coming when I claimed him. Now with Moncrief being signed by Jacksonville, I have the (mis)fortune of having both on my team. Out of all of this, I'm also the Bortles and Trubisky owner (Supeflex), so my Bortles/Robinson stack became a Trubisky/Robinson stack.

I don't know what to do, because to me Cole was more impressive than Moncrief was in Indy, but to pay $9.6M for a one year contract, they must have some sort of a game plan for Moncrief or not impressed with Cole.

a one year contract sounds like a rental until the young guys are ready to start.

[Defender]

As the Allen Robinson owner, I plucked Keelan Cole out of the waiver wire mid-season last year when due to injuries and bye-weeks, I needed a mid-season fill in for a couple of weeks. Enjoyed riding Cole's late season run as well and; I admit, I never saw that coming when I claimed him. Now with Moncrief being signed by Jacksonville, I have the (mis)fortune of having both on my team. Out of all of this, I'm also the Bortles and Trubisky owner (Supeflex), so my Bortles/Robinson stack became a Trubisky/Robinson stack.

I don't know what to do, because to me Cole was more impressive than Moncrief was in Indy, but to pay $9.6M for a one year contract, they must have some sort of a game plan for Moncrief or not impressed with Cole.

a one year contract sounds like a rental until the young guys are ready to start.

I think everyone is afraid we will see an Alshon repeat.