This season the Jaguars may have some fantasy football surprises in Jacksonville, as Blake Bortles showed off some of his skills in the preseason and he could be a sleeper pick later in the year if he gets some starts, while Marqise Lee, Toby Gerhart, Cecil Shorts and Allen Robinson could be surprises this year even if the Jaguars struggle since someone has to catch the ball and rack up some rushing yards down in Florida.
Bortles has been very impressive during the preseason and while the Jags are going with Chad Henne for now, Bortles could push him if he continues to show progress and development this season. Bortles had a strong preseason and ended up 32-of-51 for 521 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions and while he will not be the starter to open the year, he could be there by the end. Bortles has the size to be a strong starting quarterback and now he will try and get that done.
The wide receivers have the chance to surprise and it comes after Cecil Shorts was one of the top sleepers last season, especially with Justin Blackmon out of the mix. Lee and Robinson are strong rookie options, while Gerhart is the starter and for fantasy owners looking for a deep option, he could be the pick. Gerhart played well over his time in Minnesota, but he never had a chance to do much with Adrian Peterson there. Last season he had 283 yards and that was the most he had since 2011 and now he could be a breakout option this year.
Cecil Shorts is the top WR from the team to look at, especially with Justin Blackmon gone and he could have another solid season after impressing in 2013. Shorts has had 55 and 66 catches in each of the last two seasons and two years ago he had a career high 979 yards. Last season he missed three games and still had 777 yards and he should be the first option for the Jags.
Marqise Lee is one of the rookies to watch this season, as he had an impressive touchdown catch from Bortles in the last preseason game and he could breakout this year. Lee had 118 catches for 1721 yards in 2012 when he was a Heisman finalist and while his numbers were down last season, it was more about the QB play and not him. Lee has big play ability and he comes in after having 29 touchdowns in his three years at USC.
Robinson is another player to watch and he is coming into the season after two strong years at Penn State. Robinson had 97 catches for 1432 yards last season and he had 77 catches for 1018 yards the season before. Robinson and Lee should be a nice tandem along with Shorts and while the Jags are going to be a bad team, these players could put up some numbers.