Team news: Jacksonville Jaguars

Coen expects WR Brian Thomas Jr (shoulder) to be active against Broncos,

Thomas left the game but did return, making his status for Week 2 at least a little safer of a call for fantasy owners at this point in the week. Thomas had a 3-40-0 line in Week 1 and was targeted three times. Thomas had been dealing with a shoulder injury in camp but looks like he'll be on the field for what should be a tough matchup against the Broncos.

Like Cole Van Lanen, Liam Coen says LeQuint Allen Jr. will be a game-time decision for the Jaguars.

"Yeah, it'll be exactly very similar to Cole that way, where we'll work him out. We'll get a game-time decision from him."

Related Players: Bhayshul Tuten, Chris Rodriguez, Ameer Abdullah

Allen’s potential passing-down and pass-protection role matters more to Jacksonville’s backfield distribution than it does to his own Week 1 value. If he is inactive, Tuten and Rodriguez should control the meaningful touches, with Tuten potentially handling a greater share of passing-down work. Tuten remains the preferred fantasy option but carries enough committee uncertainty to be treated as a flex. Allen should not be started even if active, given the pregame testing and practice time he has missed.

ESPN’s Ben Solak expects Hunter to spend considerably more time at cornerback this season.

Jacksonville has Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers and Brian Thomas Jr. available at wide receiver, while its defense lacks a true No. 1 cornerback. Solak believes Hunter will consequently be used primarily on defense, with his offensive value potentially coming as a high-upside replacement if one of the Jaguars’ three established receivers is injured.

Related Players: Brian Thomas Jr., Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers, Brenton Strange

Fantasy Impact: A defense-heavy assignment would leave Hunter without the route volume necessary for dependable redraft production. His offensive talent gives him considerable contingent upside, but he presently looks more like a real-life luxury reserve than a legit fantasy option. Our ranking already accounts for that risk, placing him 32 spots below market ADP.

Jaguars Injury update:

LeQuint Allen soft tissue injury will miss the rest of camp

Parker Washington is day to day but will return next week.

Related players: Bhayshul Tuten, Chris Rodriguez, DeeJay Dallas, Ameer Abdullah

Allen looked to be the team's RB3 behind Tuten and Rodriguez, but RB3s are worth paying attention to in deeper leagues, and, especially in this case where both Tuten and Rodriguez are mostly unproven backs. Dallas and Adbullah could battle it out for the RB3 role with Allen missing time. As for Washington, the timetable of returning next week is a good sign the team is probably just taking it easy with him. He's become a top target for QB Trevor Lawrence since last season and reports say it's continued this year in camp so far.

ESPN’s Jaguars beat writer Michael DiRocco believes Parker Washington has been the favorite target for quarterback Trevor Lawrence thus far in training camp.

DiRocco notes Washington has consistently beaten the Jaguars’ top cornerbacks in 1-on-1 drills and believes he has established himself as the No. 1 wide receiver in Jacksonville. That sound you hear is the Parker Washington train beginning to take off. His value is continuing to grow and he may not be as much of a sleeper anymore as more and more people catch on to his potential. Washington had three 100-yard games in the last four weeks of the season, including the playoff loss to the Bills.

The Jaguars are feeling confident about Brian Thomas Jr. bouncing back. He has looked phenomenal since the spring, and when you watch him live, he's in a different class athletically than his teammates.

Related players: Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers, Travis Hunter

The story said Thomas will be the vertical threat. HC Liam Coen noted that QB Trevor Lawrence and Thomas connected more in the spring than they had in last year's camp and season. Coen added his routes the other day were "unreal." The story added the Jags don't have a true WR1 and Lawrence likes to look for Washington and Meyers on third downs, which was a trend last season as well, but BTJ could get back to his big-play ways this season and is so far looking the part.

Jaguars RB Chris Rodriguez (foot) has been cleared and will do individual work today but team will ramp him up so no team work initially. Same for CB Christian Braswell.

Related Players: Bhayshul Tuten, LeQuint Allen

The Chris Rodriguez hype has been dissipating as the summer has moved along, as his Liam Coen Kentucky connection seems to have been overshadowed by the fact that he has six professional receptions over three seasons. With LeQuint Allen handling most of the third-down snaps and Bhayshul Tuten offering explosives in all aspects of the game, Rodriguez has a very narrow path to become anything more than a low-end RB3.

The Jaguars downgraded RB Bhayshul Tuten from questionable to out for Sunday’s game against the Colts.

Tuten returned to practice this week after missing last week with a finger injury. He could return next week against the Titans, depending on how he practices throughout the week. The Jags could also rest him until the playoffs.

Commanders inactives:

QB Jayden Daniels
QB Marcus Mariota
QB Sam Hartman (emergency 3rd QB)
RB Chris Rodriguez
LT Laremy Tunsil
LB Nick Bellore
DT Daron Payne

Related Players: Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Jeremy McNichols

Do we really want to start Croskey-Merritt on Christmas with Josh Johnson at quarterback? Bill is a fine RB3 with less competition, but the ceiling is still capped.

Commanders RB Chris Rodriguez Jr. (illness) has been added to the injury report and is questionable for today's game.

Related Players: Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Jeremy McNichols

Do we really want to start Croskey-Merritt on Christmas with Josh Johnson at quarterback? Bill would be a fine RB3 if Rodriguez is unable to go.