Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Steven Jackson will be 30-years old when the 2013 NFL season starts.
The age of 30 is usually when NFL running backs start to breakdown. While I could certainly be wrong, I do not think that this will happen to Jackson just yet. I think he has at least one more good year left in him and you should be targeting him in your fantasy football re-draft leagues.
Last season, with the St. Louis Rams, Jackson rushed the ball 257 times for 1,042 yards and four touchdowns. While those numbers are not all that impressive, Jackson was better than his stats indicate. He still seems to have fresh legs for a running back of his age, and proved to me that he still has plenty left in the tank.
Jackson simply looks the part of an elite NFL running back. He has been a guy that was held back because of the lack of talent that surrounded him with the Rams.
This offseason, Jackson signed a three-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons. There is not a better situation for Jackson in the league than Atlanta. He will step in right away and become a more talented Michael Turner, who played for the Falcons for five seasons. During his five years in Atlanta, Turner rushed for 6,081 yards and 60 touchdowns. If Turner can do that with the Falcons, the sky is the limit for Jackson.
I think that the elite passing game of the Falcons will help open up some huge holes for Jackson. Also, I think that he will be a big part of the Falcons’ attack in the red zone. Jackson is a much better receiver out of the backfield than Turner was, so I think the Falcons will use him in the passing game as well, so he should not take a hit in PPR formats.
I think Jackson is going to be great this season. He has huge upside without much downside. He is a guy that I will surely be targeting in the second round of my fantasy football drafts.
Daniel is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @D_Schmelzer and add him to your network on Google.
