Storm Johnson's Updated 2014 Fantasy Outlook Heading into Week 7

Storm Johnson's first start took the NFL by, uh, whatever antonym you want to use for his first name. The Jacksonville Jaguars running back looked exactly like a Jacksonville Jaguars running back in Sunday's loss to the Tennessee Titans, finishing with 21 yards on his 10 carries.

The only salvation came when he scored a one-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Johnson did not have a run longer than seven yards; his nine other carries went for less than two yards per pop. For the season, Johnson has one kinda-sorta cool 20-yard gain against a shaky Steelers defense and a whole lot of nothing else.

Though given a very limited sample of snaps, Johnson looks every bit of who he is: a seventh-round rookie thrust into a role before he was ready because of the futility of those around him. Blake Bortles, who does not play the running back position, is the closest thing Jacksonville has had to a decent rushing attack all season.

All three Jaguars running backs this season have produced below replacement-value results, per Football Outsiders' DVOA metric. Their running game is one of 10 league-wide to produce more rushing value with the offensive line than with running backs; their running back yardage value is worse on a per-play average than any attack outside Carolina.

The Panthers are currently on what I believe is their 45th string running back. The Jaguars...are not. This is largely the way they mapped out their running game before the season, signing Toby Gerhart to take over as starter and surrounding him with low draft picks in Allen Robinson and Johnson in case things didn't work out.

That is...not good.

Wade Payne/Associated Press

If it seems as if this article has been overwhelmingly negative, that is because we are discussing the fantasy football value of a player on the Jacksonville Jaguars. As of this moment, there is no fantasy football value of any member of the Jacksonville Jaguars in standard leagues. Their wide receiver situation is a weekly guessing game based on the whims of Bortles. One week it's Allen Hurns, the next it's Robinson and last week Cecil Shorts came back to steal everyone's lunch money. 

Shorts is probably the guy you want for now, and it's obviously Robinson long term, but there is no comfort to be found anywhere on this offense. Jacksonville has not scored 20 points in a football game since Dec. 5, 2013. Its offense was significantly worse than any other team last season, per DVOA, and this year's youthful bunch is off to a similarly dispiriting start.

Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

If you're looking for hope heading into this week's matchup with the Cleveland Browns, it begins with a deeper look at the stat sheet last Sunday. The Jaguars set season highs with 379 yards and 27 first downs, and they nearly came from nine points down with less than three minutes remaining to win. 

“We pretty much won every category – first downs, yards, everything – except for the points, except for the win,” Shorts said Monday, per John Oehser of the Jaguars' official website. "It’s definitely something to build off of. It’s a good stepping stone, but we’ve got to put up some points.”

But those "stepping stones" are not coming in the running game. They're coming in large part thanks to Bortles, who four or five times per game reminds the opposition why he was a first-round pick. Time will tell if the awful hits he's taking will have Gabbertian consequences or if his at times befuddling decision-making can be calmed down by coaching.

Either way, this Jags offense does not feature one player owners must rush to add in standard formats. Keeper and deeper formats should also be confined only to the passing game.

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

Johnson will be part of what appears to be a committee going forward, one that neither possesses significant talent or opportunity. Though he possesses a chemistry with Bortles from their days at UCF, he is a nonentity in the passing game (blocking and receiving), and it appears the coaching staff is hesitant to give him a bunch of work. 

“Our whole intent was to get Storm 10 carries and he got 10 carries,” Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said, per Hays Carlyon of The Florida Times-Union. "His toughness and things like that were there,” Bradley said. “But, there’s a couple of areas and just his overall reads and where we actually want the play to hit. He hit it more front side where he could bring it backside, so things like that.”

To recap: Storm Johnson is a rookie running back playing in the NFL's worst offense as part of a time share who has averaged 3.4 yards per carry and looked generally plodding in his limited work thus far.

Johnson might develop into the long-term answer. For now? No. Thanks.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter

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