Getty Miami Dolphins WR Jakeem Grant
The Miami Dolphins find themselves in a tough spot heading into a short week with a Thursday Night Football matchup with the Houston Texans ahead. The Dolphins are dealing with multiple injuries at wideout, as both Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson will be out this week. Miami is incredibly thin at the position and in turn, this makes for an interesting fantasy football situation.
While DeVante Parker is expected to see work (finally) alongside Danny Amendola, 5-foot-7 Jakeem Grant may be a big part of the team’s offensive gameplan. Grant is coming off a week in which he logged a large number of snaps and ran a season-high number of routes (30) while jumping up the depth chart.
Let’s take a deeper dive into Grant as a potential fantasy option in Week 8, and evaluate whether he’s a sit or start against the Texans.
Key Stats and Jakeem Grant’s Fantasy Outlook
I’ll break down the matchup along with a few other key numbers that jump off the page for Grant and the Dolphins ahead of Week 8. All information on fantasy points and statistics for defense vs. position are from ESPN.
- Houston Texans vs. wide receivers in 2018: 91 receptions, 1,029 yards, six touchdowns (No. 8 fewest fantasy points per game)
- Grant played his highest percentage of snaps (70 percent) last week, per Football Outsiders (up from 40 percent in Week 6)
- In Dolphins’ four wins, Grant has 12 catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns
- In Dolphins’ three losses, Grant has four catches for 49 yards
There’s no question Grant is in line for an expanded role, but the baseline numbers on the Texans point to a tough matchup. Fortunately, there’s still reason for optimism about the 25-year-old this week in fantasy.
Should You Start or Sit Jakeem Grant?
This is a painful spot to try to figure. First, we have Dolphins quarterback Brock Osweiler facing his former coach in Bill O’Brien, who should almost certainly know how to shut him down. But the Texans cornerbacks are painfully slow and Grant has blazing speed. I can’t recommend using him in 12-team leagues or smaller, but I’d be open in larger leagues.
If you play in a league with 14 or more teams and need a WR3 or flex, Grant is a fine option. His big-play ability could very well come into play in this game. We can’t base this decision off his numbers (five catches for 64 yards in past two games), so it has to come down to expectations and his personal matchup.
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