Week 15 vs. Miami Dolphins
With WR Kelvin Benjamin banged up, Zay Jones now becomes the highest ranked Bills wide receiver. But there is a big drop off there. Although Jones has seen targets the last month, his production with the exception of a couple touchdowns has been below-average. Keep him on the bench for Week 15 against Miami, who is 15th in aFPA to wide receivers.
Week 13 vs. New England Patriots
With Kelvin Benjamin and Jordan Matthews ailing, Zay Jones became QB Tyrod Taylor's favorite receiver. He was targeted 10 times last week. However, that only produced 3 receptions. One of those was a touchdown that rewarded owners who went out on a limb and started him.
It appears Jones will be the No. 1 WR for the Bills again this week and he faces a Pats defense ranked 21st in aFPA to wide receivers. Even in a decent matchup, he doesn't rank high enough to start in Week 13. Keep him on the bench.
Week 12 at Kansas City Chiefs
Both Kelvin Benjamin and Jordan Matthews are banged up which leaves Zay Jones as the best fantasy option at wide receiver for the Bills. Jones has 10 receptions in the last two games which includes a touchdown. with Tyrod Taylor back at QB, it should give Bills receivers better opportunities.
Buffalo faces the Chiefs this week, who are ranked 30th in aFPA to wide receivers. But even with that favorable matchup, keep Jones on the bench for Week 12.
Week 5 at Cincinnati Bengals
With Jordan Matthews out with an injury, Zay Jones will be the No. 1 receiver. However, we don't expect anything significant from the rookie. He should not be in your lineup or even on your bench at this point. Too much unknown and he only has 4 receptions in four games. Targets might go up slightly, but the results will not be impactful.
Week 1 vs. New York Jets
Zay Jones will have a chance to make an immediate impact so that gives him some fantasy value entering the regular season. Rookie wide receivers sometimes have trouble translating to the NFL, but we will need a few weeks to see if that happens to Jones.
Someone is going to have to catch the passes Tyrod Taylor throws and Jones could be the guy. But until we see some evidence of that, Jones is a bench player for Week 1.
Fantasy Upside
Rookie Zay Jones didn't have much value entering the season, but the Sammy Watkins trade changes things. Now, Jones might have to grow up quickly. He does have a good pedigree as the Bills chose him in the second round and he was the fourth wide receiver taken overall. Opportunities will be there and maybe QB Tyrod Taylor finds chemistry with Jones quickly.
Fantasy Downside
Rookie wide receivers are very green. For every stud rookie wideout you see emerge in the NFL, you see four or five guys who are duds or need two or three years in the league to make an impact. Also, Buffalo is a run-first team who will not throw the ball 40 times a game. Opportunities might not be plentiful for any of the Bills receivers, so even if Jones gets snaps, the numbers might not reflect the time on the field.
2017 Bottom Line
Jones is talented and might become a good NFL receiver someday. But I don't think that's going to happen in 2017. He might be worth taking a flier on in the late rounds, but even his ADP in rounds 16-17 is a bit steep. If it's a keeper league, then maybe, but he will likely not return much value in 2017
