Flashback to a year ago in March 2022 and the Christian Kirk fantasy outlook changed for the better. The Jaguars surprised everyone and signed former Cardinals wide receiver Christian Kirk to a massive four-year, $72 million contract. The sports world was on fire. I’m not sure there was a single nice thing said about the contract at the time. One year later, this contract is now a bargain. It did open the floodgates for the wide receiver market, though. We saw a number of new contract extensions for top wideouts such as Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams, and Cooper Kupp. 

I personally had no shares of Kirk during the 2022 season. I did have one of Trevor Lawrence, who helped me take notice of Kirk’s stats. He managed a WR11 finish in half PPR scoring after being drafted as the WR41, on average. At a draft spot of 98 overall, you could have scored a back-end WR1 in the ninth round of your drafts. I will admit, I was cautious about how the Jaguars would fare as a team after watching Urban Meyer lead the team the year before, but head coach Doug Pederson turned this squad around.

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Christian Kirk Fantasy Stats

His stats may not have felt like a lot during the season, but in total, he put a surprising 84 catches for 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns. He also managed a sneaky 21 rushing attempts for another 153 yards with a 7.1 YPC average. Kirk managed to start hot by amassing 18 catches for 274 yards and three scores in his first three games as a Jaguar. The team as a whole started off pretty well, despite the team not winning many games. In fact, the only quality win was over the Chargers on the road in week 3.

The team fared much better once Trevor Lawrence found his footing and started playing like the number-one pick in the draft. Kirk was a steady presence for him all year long by catching at least six passes in nine games played. He also managed at least 90 receiving yards in six games. Now that Marvin Jones has gone back to Detroit, that frees up another 46 catches for 529 yards and three scores to be distributed to Kirk, Zay Jones, and Evan Engram.

Kirk’s Outlook for 2023

Per Fantasy Pros, Kirk is currently ranked as the WR30 and 69 overall in half PPR scoring formats. I see him as a value for a player that has proven he can finish in the WR1 range. Now that Trevor Lawrence and the team have some continuity, they can come out of the gates on fire next year. This Jaguars team might even win their division because it’s currently very weak. With an easier schedule of opponents, a very affordable draft position, and Trevor Lawrence’s growth in year three, Kirk is primed to be a value yet again for the 2023 season.

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