With prized free agent tight end Julius Thomas on the shelf for the foreseeable future, it seems that de facto No. 1 wide receiver Allen Robinson is likely to garner significant red zone looks for the Jacksonville Jaguars. At least that's how Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles sees things shaking out.
"Allen is going to be huge for us, but especially with Julius out," Bortles said, via The Florida Times-Union. "He's going to have to pick up some slack in the red zone. Obviously, he'll get more targets."
Considering Bortles will be the one tossing said targets to Robinson, it's probably smart to listen to the young signal-caller when he says something so pointed.
This would be great news for fantasy football owners who snapped Robinson up in the mid-rounds. Robinson is a big-bodied wideout who seemed to move closer to the front of the line of the Jaguars young wide receivers as 2014 wore on, but despite his rise up the depth chart the Penn State product saw just five red zone targets last year. With Thomas out for several weeks at least, it seems Robinson, per Bortles, is likely to see an increased in targets inside the 20s.
The other Jacksonville receiver to see a majority of red zone snaps last year - Cecil Shorts - departed in the offseason for Houston and Marqise Lee is still dealing with an injury, so Robinson's key competition for red zone targets may be Allen Hurns. While Hurns was a positive surprise for the Jags and will start at 'Z' for Jacksonville, it's Robinson's size and upside and Thomas' injury that paint the picture of a soon-to-blossom red zone target who will have fantasy owners laughing all the way to the playoffs.
