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The fantasy football season is still months away, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t start thinking about some sleepers.
In a shocking story last month, the Atlanta Falcons made a move to bring in veteran RB Steven Jackson. Jackson had a strong career with the St. Louis Rams and managed to rush for over 1,000 yards in eight straight seasons despite playing for one of the worst offensive teams in the game. The move to Atlanta means that S-Jax will finally get a chance to play in a playoff caliber offense.
However, Jackson has been one of the most forgotten fantasy backs in recent years and has seen his draft stock plummet. Many people have simply given up on Jackson, but the three-time Pro Bowler is far from done. Watching the tailback run at the end of the 2012 season, he didn’t look like a back that was entering the end of his career. He ran with power, and more importantly, he was healthy for the remainder of the year.
Jackson will now be the main goal line back in Atlanta, and he couldn’t have asked for a better situation. The Falcons were ranked 17th in points last year with 26.2 points per game in 2012, which is much higher than the 18.7 points St. Louis averaged last season. The move to Hot-lanta will only give Jackson move chances to get into the end-zone, which drastically improves his fantasy value because touchdowns are the most valuable aspect of fantasy football.
Over the last three years, former Falcons goal-line back, Michael Turner, received 102 carries inside the opponent’s 10-yard line. This has made him one of the best goal-line backs in football and was the major reason why he has amassed 33 touchdowns over the last three years. Jackson has a very similar style to Turner, so it is not hard to imagine Jackson putting up the same type of fantasy numbers.
Jackson will be a great second back to target this season. He will finally be featured in an offense that can score more than 10 points a game and has everything around him to be successful. Look for Jackson to once again go over 1,000 yards, but this time expect him to add at least 10 touchdowns in the process.
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.
