RADIO
Kirk Cousins had DeSean Jackson open on a fly route down the right sideline, but Cousins overthrew him. Jackson's final stride to try to get to the ball left him grabbing his left leg immediately after the play, and it wasn't long before he was angrily on the trainer's table. Now it appears that Jackson will miss three to four weeks with a strained hamstring. Jackson owners are used to his boom-or-bust nature, though this is not the contingency plan any owner ever wants to resort to. That being said, we must now explore what the injury means, and how the landscape changes for Washington in Jackson's absence.
First, it must be noted that Jordan Reed looked fantastic out there. When Reed is healthy and on the field, he appears to be Cousins' favorite target (he garnered 11 of 31 total targets). Pierre Garcon was next up, getting eight targets of his own. These two are the clear top options that Washington has left without Jackson. They are now solid options that should be owned in almost all leagues now, despite Washington's offensive shortcomings. They are also probably already owned in your league, though there's a greater chance that Reed was left on the waiver wire due to a relatively late ADP that was tied to his durability woes and subsequent lack of production. If either of those two are sitting out there, grab them now. We'll wait here for you to come back.
All set? Lovely. Now comes the part where we look at who will actually fill the physical role of Jackson and be on the field. Andre Roberts appears to be the most likely candidate to get extra snaps, as he was third on the team in targets (albeit with only four) and provides Cousins with another reliable, if unremarkable, set of hands to throw to. He is the boring, but probable, answer here as to who benefits the most. Roberts is more enticing in PPR formats, as he mostly fills out as the crafty slot receiver who runs short to mid-range routes. For most, the story should end here, as Cousins and the Washington offense doesn't generate the most firepower, and digging deep in Washington will leave most of you a little nauseous. In deeper leagues where Roberts is already owned, you can look for Jamison Crowder, a rookie selected in the fourth round this year, and Ryan Grant. If you're in a very deep league and you want to really speculate on a Hail Mary, look to preseason stud Rashad Ross.
Ross is the guy who has the most similar skill-set to Jackson's. Ross was a track and field athlete at Arizona State and is the only real burner they have in the arsenal right now. Washington's Head Coach Jay Gruden spoke about how losing Jackson means that safeties can creep in now. Gruden values being able to stretch the field but the question is at what capacity might Ross be able to step in.
Gruden said: “Throwing him out there against the St. Louis Rams, how much, how often, how will he do? We’ll see. We have a couple days of practice, see how much we can get out of him. Worst case he can be a good kickoff returner.”
While it isn't a ringing vote of confidence in the guy, it is a situation worth monitoring and those in deep leagues, especially those that score return yards, have a very intriguing flier in Rashad Ross. Based on Week 1, it looks like the pecking order is: Reed > Garcon >>> Roberts > Grant > Crowder > Ross. That is only because Ross was inactive for Week 1. With Jackson being inactive now, combined with Gruden's comments, this leads me to believe that if Ross puts in a good week in practice, he can vie for WR3 duties and be brought in for some home run throws.
