Marvin Jones' Updated 2014 Fantasy Outlook Heading into Week 6

Now would be the time for fantasy football owners to grab Cincinnati Bengals wideout Marvin Jones.

Owned in just 28.8 percent of leagues after breaking his foot in the offseason and missing all four of the team's games to date, Jones is an underrated fantasy goldmine who figures to return in the next week or so.

It is easy to forget about Jones. A fifth-round pick in 2012, Jones had a breakout sophomore campaign and was a must-add wire option on his way to being a top-25 scorer at the position. After breaking his foot in the offseason, though, owners rightfully ignored him in drafts or dropped him outright.

Last week against New England was supposed to be Jones' big return, but he aggravated his ankle in practice and ultimately didn't suit up.

The biggest question about Jones is not when he will get in the game—he figures to this week or the week after, as a report from ESPN.com's Coley Harvey makes it seem as if his being held out was more precautionary than anything (head coach Marvin Lewis essentially confirmed this on NFL Insiders a few weeks back, via Cox Media Group's Jay Morrison, )—but how he performs once in the game.

First, let's look at his top-25 numbers from last season in which he posted double-digit outputs in six games:

WK	OPP	REC	YDS	TD	PTS
1	@Chi	1	7	0	1
2	Pit	3	35	0	3
3	GB	3	38	1	9
4	@Cle	0	0	0	0
5	NE	2	39	0	3
6	@Buf	3	71	1	16
7	@Det	4	57	1	11
8	NYJ	8	122	4	36
9	@Mia	4	66	0	6
10	@Bal	1	2	0	0
11	Cle	1	9	0	0
12	BYE	-	-	-	-
13	@SD	2	12	0	1
14	Ind	3	60	1	12
15	@Pit	5	48	1	10
16	Min	6	85	0	8
17	Bal	5	61	1	12

Keep in mind one thing—Jones did that damage while only playing 50 percent of the team's snaps last year, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Output along those lines is not out of the question for Jones right off the bat. Mohamed Sanu has played well in Jones' absence, but offensive coordinator Hue Jackson made it clear in the week leading up to the contest in New England that Jones would be ahead on the depth chart.

"Oh yes, I can't wait," Jackson said, per Paul Dehner Jr. of Cincinnati.com. "He can run and catch. Not only does he take the top off, he scores a lot of touchdowns, too. This is a fun part about our guys. We have a multitude of different guys that you can use."

He scores.

David Richard/Associated Press

As Dehner notes, going into New England, the Bengals were abysmal in the red zone and had attempted a league-leading 11 field goals. Nine of Jones' 10 scores last year happened to come in the red zone.

What happened in New England outside of a knee-slapping 43-17 loss? The team went 0-of-7 on third down, and while Andy Dalton tossed two touchdowns in garbage time with Darrelle Revis and Devin McCourty out of the game, the team attempted another two field goals.

Jones has a role, and it boils down to moving the chains and scoring touchdowns. Tight end Jermaine Gresham has been a non-factor all season, essentially written out of the game plan (for good reason, too, as he dropped a surefire touchdown Sunday night). Tyler Eifert is still sidelined with an injury.

Sanu has been good in spot duty but moves back to a slot and trick-play role like last year while Jones takes the snaps across from A.J. Green.

Of course, looking at the numbers above suggests Jones has WR2 upside but as a matchup-based play. Owners will love most of his upcoming slate, then:

WK	OPP	Rank vs. WRs (Avg. points surrendered)
6	Car	23-T (22.4)
7	@Ind	2 (12.4)
8	Bal	23-T (22.4)
9	Jac	28 (24.2)
10	Cle	25 (23.0)
11	@NO	29 (25.6)
12	@Hou	20 (22.2)
13	@TB	30 (27.2)
14	Pit	11 (19.2)
15	@Cle	25 (23.0)
16	Den	5 (14.3)
17	@Pit	11 (19.2)

An upcoming slate more conducive to wideout production is hard to find. Even if Jones comes out of the gates sluggish, that Week 8-13 stretch is reason enough to grab him up right away.

Really, while those two matchups against Pittsburgh seem bad and at a horrible time, let's not pretend like Cleveland, Baltimore, Carolina, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville are known as pass-happy teams. Pittsburgh's numbers in this area are inflated, to say the least.

In a way, Jones is a gamble. But in fantasy football, the high-upside, low-risk gambles win titles. Jones may have another setback, but the upside severely outweighs anything on the market—and perhaps any other wideout owners could buy low on at the moment.

Jones has proven production on a limited snap count. He seems to be the missing piece to an offense that scores a ton of points. His upcoming schedule is incredible. Owners have to keep their ears to the ground all week going into the matchup against the Panthers, but he is a sound flex if he starts.

While he is surely more of a long-term add, owners need to pounce now.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.