One of my favorite late-round defensive ends to own in fantasy football IDP leagues this season is Chandler Jones of the New England Patriots.
The Syracuse standout started out last year on fire, as he had all six of his sacks in his first eight games of the season. He was having a true breakout campaign and looked like he was going to finish among the top-10 defensive linemen.
However, Jones followed up his amazing start by recording just five total tackles and zero sacks in his next five contests. A nagging ankle injury plagued the athletic pass-rusher throughout the second-half of the season though. He was having problems getting off the line of scrimmage and simply didn’t look the same player. Needless to say, his poor performance over the second half caused his fantasy value to plummet this year.
Regardless of his mid-season slump last year, though, the 260-pounder is ready to put his injury plagued campaign behind him. He has been taking it easy most of the off-season and should be 100% healthy by the time Week 1 comes around.
Jones also have an amazing divisional schedule. The defensive end will get to face off against three (Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, and New York Jets) less-than stellar offensive lines, which will give Jones more opportunities to find a path to the quarterback.
Jones will be a great second defensive end to own this season and the 23-year-old may still be available on the waiver wire.
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.