BALLER MOVE: Draft as a handcuff or RB3/flex in late rounds
CURRENT ADP: 112 STD, 93 PPR
ANALYSIS: Fred Jackson has great value as a handcuff and has proven he can be fantasy relevant as a backup running back.
Despite never being the clear number one back, Fred Jackson has topped 1,000 yards from scrimmage in five of the past six seasons. The seemingly eternal sleeper pick at running back, Jackson is once again behind a superior player in LeSean McCoy. However, Jackson has gotten at least 149 touches in each of the last seven seasons and with a new run-happy head coach in Rex Ryan at the helm, there's no reason why this trend should end.
At age 34, a lot of fantasy owners will be scared off of Jackson and opt for younger legs. But it's hard to argue with the numbers that Jackson has steadily put up as a backup running back. Every season he seems to be an afterthought during fantasy drafts and then becomes a waiver-wire steal weeks later.
This season, coming off of a career-worst 3.72 yards per carry, Jackson will be available in late rounds and could be primed for a bounce back season. At worst, he's a valuable handcuff for McCoy owners and at best, he turns his 150 touches into another 1,000 YDs and four or five touchdowns.
Those worried about touches shouldn't look any further than Ryan's tenure as head coach of the New York Jets. From his first season in 2009 to his last in 2014, the Jets were top six in rushing attempts five times. With question marks all over the place in the passing game, Ryan will rely heavily on his ground attack and there will be plenty of touches to go around in the backfield. Going in the late rounds, Jackson could fill an important bench role for fantasy teams and could put up respectable flex numbers.
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