Marqise Lee's Updated Week 1 Fantasy Outlook Following Cecil Shorts Injury

As one door closes for Cecil Shorts III, another opens for Marqise Lee.

Jacksonville announced on Saturday that the veteran wide receiver will be absent when the Jaguars take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon:

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WR Cecil Shorts III has been downgraded to out for #JAXvsPHI. http://t.co/L9WIAPfSpG

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) September 6, 2014"

With Shorts out, the spotlight turns to the Jags' tandem of rookie WRs: Lee and Allen Robinson. The two second-rounders figure to be large pieces in head coach Gus Bradley's offensive revamp.

Lee had a rough final season at USC, but which Trojans player didn't in 2013? Considering all of the turmoil swirling around Los Angeles last year, and the team's somewhat inconsistent quarterback situation, catching 57 passes for 791 yards and four touchdowns wasn't all that bad.

At the moment, it would appear that Lee is better positioned than any other Jags player to capitalize on Shorts' injury. Even before Shorts went down, he impressed coaches enough to earn a starting job.

His offseason was not without difficulty, though, with Bradley publicly criticizing Lee's effort on the field, per Ryan O'Halloran of The Florida Times-Union:

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I think that's one of those things we're looking at – it's the consistency. Run your routes [like the football] is coming to you. You can't change speeds. You can't choose when and when not to. I've told you before that I've seen him switch to where he’s more focused.

I'd like to visit with him about what happened [Friday]. He did play good, but he could have done some things even more precise. It wasn't exactly where we need him to be.

"

You hear that about almost every rookie wide receiver, though. Coaches gotta keep young players like Lee grounded in those first few months.

He should be one of the better rookie wide receivers from the Class of 2014, and that's saying something considering the depth of talent from this year's draft. Over the course of the season, he should establish himself as a key cog in the Jaguars passing game.

In terms of Week 1, though, you might want to exercise some discretion. Pick up and maybe even start Lee if you were already high on him to begin with; he should get more targets since Shorts isn't there.

What you shouldn't do is add Lee simply because Shorts is out. This isn't a situation where you should about-face on a player's potential in light of recent news. It's far from a guarantee that the 22-year-old will deliver this early into the season.

Neil Greenberg of The Washington Post listed Lee as somebody you should sit this week:

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There is a lot of hype around Lee after he snagged a 57-yard touchdown from fellow rookie Blake Bortles in the preaseason, but Bortles isn’t Jacksonville’s starting quarterback — Chad Henne is. The same Henne who was drafted in fewer leagues than Tim Tebow, the current SEC Network analyst.

Henne has never had an above-average season when he has played in 10 or more games and I wouldn’t expect him to start now, so Lee and the entire Jacksonville receiving corps is a sit.

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ESPN's Matthew Berry added that Lee might be good for daily fantasy leagues:

Chad Henne isn't the kind of quarterback who inspires a ton of confidence from a fantasy football perspective. He'll have his weeks were he approaches 300 yards passing, but that's balanced with the weeks where he finishes in the 180-220 range.

You don't want to play Russian roulette with your fantasy team.

Toby Gerhart is also a bit of a question mark. While he should thrive now that he's out from under Adrian Peterson's shadow, but the last time he was truly his team's primary ball-carrier was 2011.

What does bear mention is that in the event the Jaguars go down early and are staring at a massive deficit late in the game, you could get some garbage points from Jacksonville's starters, Lee included. Garbage points are points all the same.

While you wouldn't be foolish to pick up Lee before tomorrow afternoon, his fantasy potential is still a bit cloudy. There's a little too much risk for him to earn must-add status.