Marvin Jones, Wide Receiver, Cincinnati Bengals

NFL Experience: 3 Years

Drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in Round 5

College: California

                                             2013 Statistics

Games             Rec                  Yards              AVG               Points

16                    51                    712                 14.0               137.70

Best Performance

Week 8 VS- New York Jets: 8 receptions, 122 receiving yards, four touchdowns

Jones was a complete animal on his home field as he and the Bengals destroyed the New York Jets, 49-9. Averaging 15.25 yards per catch and scoring four huge touchdowns top the list of Jones amazing accomplishments in this game. If you were the lucky waiver wire recipient of Jones and played him in Week 8, he rewarded a whopping 36.20 fantasy points, scoring the fourth highest points of all players that week.

Best Four-Game Stretch

Weeks 6-9: 19 receptions, 316 total yards, six touchdowns

Really into his groove these four games Jones and quarterback, Andy Dalton were having quite the love connection. With Jones’ huge contributions on the field, the Bengals had three wins defeating Buffalo, Detroit and the New York Jets during this four-week stretch.

Fantasy owners who acquired Jones from waivers and started him during this period of time, couldn’t have been more thrilled as he racked up 71 fantasy points total in these four weeks.

Lowest Statistical Standpoint

Week 4 AT Cleveland Browns: zero receptions, zero yards, zero touchdowns

This is about as rock bottom as it gets. Likely Jones didn’t cause too much damage to fantasy teams in Week 4, though, because he hadn’t really broken out to that point; thus he was a future, secret waiver wire surprise in waiting. Ego-wise, I’m sure Jones wasn’t too happy with his big zero of a day as the Bengals lost to the Browns, 6-17.

2013 Season at a Glance

Jones finished 2013 ranked 21st among wide receivers in fantasy points. However, in receiving touchdowns, Jones’ double-digit 10 scores ranked him seventh in touchdowns compared with the other wide receivers in 2013. That in itself deserves a pat on the back.

Unfortunately, for fantasy owners riding high on Jones’ performance earlier in the season, he offered the opposite equal in dismal fantasy value mid-season, sadly landing him back on waiver wires in some leagues.

As the Bengals clawed their way up through the 2013 Wildcard playoff game, Jones production picked up some, showing a decent sampling of what fantasy owners hope is in his future in 2014.

2014 Outlook

Much of how Jones performs in 2014 hinges on how effectively Dalton is playing. Obviously, fellow receiver, A.J. Green, is Dalton’s No. 1 target, but defenses know this as well and when Green is suffering from double coverage, Jones finds ways to get open. At 6’-2”, when Jones jumps, he is capable of some incredible receptions and has one-handed catches mastered.

Jones should enter the 2014 fantasy season as a quality flex player most weeks, so he’s worth a draft as a WR3 or WR4, who could surprise more often than not. The Bengals tight ends don’t play a huge role in the receiving game, so Jones should serve as Dalton’s No. 2 target most weeks.

Next Up: No. 92, Rashad Jennings, Running Back, Oakland Raiders