RADIO
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a glaring need for a No. 2 wide receiver, and they spent millions to fill it.
DeSean Jackson has taken his fleet feet to Tampa Bay. Now, the Buccaneers look like one of the most explosive and fantasy-friendly passing attacks in the NFL. With Jameis Winston at quarterback, top-5 fantasy wideout Mike Evans as his top target, 2016 breakout star Cameron Brate at tight end and the newly-signed Jackson acting as the home run threat, the Bucs are an offense filled with fantasy forces.
Jackson signed a three-year deal with Tampa Bay, and the ramifications will be felt throughout the fantasy football world. Here is a look at how the fantasy futures of Jackson, his new teammates and his old teammates will be affected by his signing.
DeSean Jackson's Impact in Tampa Bay
Jackson was able to post two 1,000-yard years in three seasons with the Washington Redskins, even though he had to share targets with talented tight end Jordan Reed, fellow veteran wideout Pierre Garcon and several other pass catchers. He was targeted 100 times last season for only the second time in five years.
While Jackson is showing no signs of slowing down, Father Time is not known for being considerate towards speedsters in their 30s. Sooner or later Jackson will lose some life in his legs, and that will spell curtains for his fantasy worth when it happens. Since Jackson does not have size to fall back on (5’10”, 175 lbs) and is not a touchdown compiler (averaged five TD per year over nine seasons), his fantasy stock could plummet rapidly whenever he loses a step.
When Jackson was with the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins, he was either the No. 1 WR or was neck-and-neck with another wideout for the title, with Jeremy Maclin in Philadelphia and Garcon in Washington. But now he is the clear No. 2 behind Evans in Tampa. Getting 100 targets will not be easy with Evans swallowing up so many. Winston and the Bucs will have to air it out a ton for Jackson to get the same opportunities he has had in other offenses
Jackson projects to be a 50-catch, 900-yard guy with five touchdowns in 2017 in my mind. While Evans will free him up against man-to-man coverage and create chances for him downfield, Evans will also cut into his targets and receptions because Evans is the centerpiece of the offense. Jackson will still be good in distance leagues where 50-yard scores get fantasy owners bonus points, but he will be a WR you will have to spot start in fantasy leagues, not one you can use on a weekly basis.
How Will This Affect Other Players?
Jameis Winston has improved steadily since his rookie campaign and should elevate his game (and his fantasy value) to a higher level in 2017 with another year of experience under his helmet and with Jackson making Winston’s receiving corps the best he has had to work with during his short career.
When Evans was double-covered by intelligent defenses last season, Winston was stuck checking down to Brate or having to settle for short passes to slot receiver Adam Humphries. Now Winston has Jackson available for crossing patterns and seam routes that could translate into large chunks of quick yardage and some long touchdown tosses for Winston.
Winston’s trajectory is one where a 4,500-yard season with 30 touchdown passes is very likely this upcoming season. Having Jackson as part of his receiving crew, especially if the Bucs don’t stop there and add another weapon, will definitely help Winston’s fantasy value rise. Winston should go from a top-15 fantasy QB to a top-10 fantasy QB in 2017.
Evans was targeted more often than any receiver in the NFL in 2016. While Jackson is not a receiver who needs a high volume of targets to rack up yards because of his big-play ability, there is no doubt he will eat into Evans’ target total slightly.
With Jackson on the other side of the field keeping defenses honest due to his deep speed, Evans should find fewer double teams to fight through and more room to run free in opposing secondaries. So even if he is targeted fewer times, that will be evened out by the fact that Winston and he should connect more often when passes head Evans’ direction. Another 90-catch, 1,300-yard season with a dozen touchdowns is very likely for him.
The offseason has been very interesting for the Kirk Cousins. He was franchise-tagged for the second year in a row and was probably the main cause for Washington’s front office dissension, which ultimately led to general manager Scot McCloughan getting ousted. Have you ever seen an organization have less confidence in an above-average quarterback who almost threw for 5,000 yards last year? Do they actually want Colt McCoy running the offense? Or worse, Jay Cutler?
Cousins and his Redskins have lost Garcon and Jackson to free agency, but the team signed 1,000-yard Terrelle Pryor to a contract and still have talented tight end Jordan Reed and young receivers Jamison Crowder and Josh Doctson in the fold, so Cousins still has explosive weapons to work with (especially if the oft-injured Reed and Doctson can stay on the field for a change). Losing Jackson does not help Cousins’ fantasy value, but thanks to Pryor it should not change very much if at all.
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