Chris

Thompson

Chicago also worked out Brian Hill and Wendell Smallwood. This doesn’t impact David Montgomery or Damien Williams much, but it doesn’t bode well for Tarik Cohen’s prospects of playing anytime soon if they sign one of these backs. Cohen has struggled to return from an ACL injury suffered in 2020.

Thompson played in only eight games before landing on IR with a back injury. He averaged four touches per week when healthy, playing 29 percent of offensive snaps. With a new coaching staff and a three-down back in James Robinson, the Jaguars should let Thompson walk this offseason.

Thompson himself isn’t so much a fantasy option as he is a roadblock to James Robinson’s ceiling. With Thompson out for the last three quarters of Sunday’s action, though, Robinson notably played 83% of the team’s snaps and handled 100% of Jacksonville’s backfield carries and targets. The overall RB3 on the year, Robinson will remain a matchup-proof top-five option for as long as Thompson remains sidelined.

Thompson was evaluated for a concussion in the first quarter but was held out with a back injury after he cleared protocol. James Robinson remains the only other available running back for Jacksonville Sunday.

With Thompson out last week against the Chargers. James Robinson played 90 percent of snaps and handled every backfield touch for the Jags. Commanding 8 percent of the team’s targets this season, Thompson puts a ding in Robinson’s weekly pass catching upside. Robinson remains a RB1 option in all fantasy formats.

In a corresponding move, the Jaguars activated RB Devine Ozigbo (hamstring) from injured reserve. Thompson has played 35% of the Jaguars’ offensive snaps this season, rushing six times for 17 yards and catching 16-of-19 targets for 111 yards and one touchdown. James Robinson has acted as Jacksonville’s clear No. 1 running back all season.

The seven touches were a new season high for Thompson, though the only time he drew attention to himself was getting pulverized in pass protection. Thompson now has 10 receptions for 61 yards, which is subpar even for a running back. The path to consistent PPR FLEX value is not going to be there in this offense.

Thompson caught a game-tying 14-yard touchdown on a fade from Gardner Minshew. It was the only notable play for Thompson, who lost some passing snaps to Laviska Shenault. With James Robinson and Shenault breaking out, Thompson is just a low-volume third-down back.

The Jaguars were projected for negative game script but instead scarcely tapped into Thompson’s skillset as Philip Rivers’ two costly interceptions allowed Jacksonville to hang around into the second half. James Robinson (16/62) handled every running back carry ahead of Thompson. The latter will remain a matchup-based (and thin) FLEX against the Titans in Week 2.

Shipley also notes that Leonard Fournette “had a great day” during Thursday’s practice. It was always foreseeable that Fournette’s 100 targets from last year would be shaved given the presence of both Laviska Shenault and Thompson underneath, but the latter being featured and flashing in red zone drills is a red flag for Fournette’s upside as a whole. Thompson, who previously cried whenever OC Jay Gruden was out the door in Washington, is fully expected to leach targets and touches in any negative game script. Jacksonville is slated with the 13th-toughest schedule based on Vegas’ Season Win Totals.